mssssam 


[ 


LIBRARY 

teNIVERi,ITV  OF 
CALL  ORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


ALICE  BULKELEYWINSLOI 


Music  Lovers*  Series 

* 

Great  Composers  and  Their  Work 

Famous  Singers  of  To-day  and  Yes- 
terday 

Famous  Violinists  of  To-day  and  Yes- 
terday 

The  National  Music  of  America  and  Its 

Sources 

* 

L.  C  PAGE  AND  COMPANY 

(Incorporated) 

212  Summer  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 


The  National  Music  of 
America 

And  Its  Sources 

By 

Louis  C.   Elson 

Author  of  "Curiosities  of  Music,"  "  European  Remi- 
niscences," "  The  Theory  of  Music,"  "  Great 
Composers  and  Their  Work,"  etc. 

ILLUSTRATED 


Boston 
L.  C.   Page  and  Company 

(Incorporated) 


Copyright,  1899 
BY  L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 
All  rights  reserved 


Colonial 

Elactrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simonds  &  Co 
Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


PREFACE. 


IN  no  department  of  musical  history  has 
there  been  more  of  careless  and  unverified 
statement,  of  unquestioning  acceptance  of 
tradition,  than  in  the  chronicles  of  our 
national  music.  The  author  by  no  means 
claims  to  have  cleared  up  the  mists  which 
hang  over  some  parts  of  the  subject ;  he 
may,  however,  state  that  where  conflicting 
tales  were  told,  which  could  neither  be 
confirmed  nor  disproved,  he  has  presented 
both  sides  of  the  question  without  prejudice. 
The  origin  of  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  for  example, 
has  not  been  discovered,  but  it  has  been 
pointed  out  that  many  things  which  have 


Preface. 

been    accepted    as    ascertained    facts    have 
by  no  means  the  certainty  of  history. 

A  slight  discursion  to  show  the  growth 
of  the  national  taste  in  music  in  America, 
has  been  deemed  pertinent  to  the  subject. 
No  apology  is  needed  for  a  full  presentation 
of  the  music  of  the  Pilgrims  and  the  Puri- 
tans, for  not  only  have  errors  crept  into  the 
popular  comprehension  of  this  important 
topic,  but  this  may  be  regarded  as  the  chief 
seed  whence  the  early  music  of  our  country 
sprang. 

Most  of  the  musical  illustrations  are  drawn 
from  early  (often  original)  editions,  in  the 
library  of  the  author. 

Louis  C.  ELSON. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory  —  The  Seeds  of  Puritan  Music  —  Sy- 
nopsis of  the  Evolution  of  Congregational  Sing- 
ing —  Luther  and  Calvin  —  The  Music  of  the 
Roundheads  n 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Beginning  of  American  Music  —  Difference  be- 
tween Pilgrims  and  Puritans  —  A  Popular  Error 
—  The  Bay  Psalm-book  —  Disputes  in  the  Church 
about  Singing  —  The  "  Old  Way "  versus  the 
"New  Way"  —  Subsequent  Psalm  and  Sacred 
Collections  —  Prejudice  against  the  Organ  —  Es- 
tablishment of  Choirs 29 

CHAPTER  III. 

Beginnings  of  Secular  Music  in  New  England  — 
Early  Concerts  —  Strange  Programmes  —  Ecstatic 
Criticism  —  Prices  of  Teaching — Beginning  of 
Native  Compositions  —  William  Billings  —  Oliver 
Holden  —  First  Musical  Typography  .  .  .60 


vi  Contents. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER   IV. 

European  National  Songs  —  The  Voice  of  Freedom 
in  Foreign  Countries  —  "  Lilliburlero  "  —  Scottish 
War-songs — Koerner's  "Song  of  the  Sword"  — 
The  Music  of  the  Reign  of  Terror ;  "  Ca  Ira  "  and 
"La  Carmagnole"  — The  " Marseillaise "  —  The 
English  National  Anthem  and  Its  American 
Uses  — "My  Country, 'tis  of  Thee"  ...  80 

CHAPTER  V. 

"Yankee  Doodle"  —  Doubtful  Etymology  of  the 
Words  —  Difficulty  in  Tracing  the  Origin  of 
the  Melody  —  Derisive  Use  of  the  Tune  during 
the  Revolution  —  Began  and  Ended  the  Revolu- 
tion —  First  Appearance  as  a  National  Tune  in 
Europe 127 

CHAPTER  VI. 

"  Hail  Columbia  "  —  Originally  an  Instrumental  Com- 
position —  "  The  President's  March  "  —  Doubts 
about  the  Composer 155 

CHAPTER  VII. 

"  The  Star-spangled  Banner  "  —  Its  English  Origin  — 
Originally  a  Drinking-song  —  Doubts  Regarding 
Composer  —  Its  English  Uses — A  Masonic  Ode 
—  Its  First  American  Setting — "Adams  and 
Liberty"— Robert  Treat  Paine  — Its  Great  Set- 
ting by  Francis  Scott  Key  —  A  Doubtful  Story 
Regarding  Its  First  Union  with  the  Music  .  .  l6& 


Contents.  vii 

PAGE 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Sea-songs  —  Charles  Dibdin,  the  Sailor -poet  — 
Sailor  Music  of  America  —  "  The  Constitution  and 
Guerritre"  or  "Hull's  Victory"  —  A  Song  of 
Samoa — "Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean"  — 
Naval  Songs  of  the  Civil  War  ....  207 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Songs  of  the  Civil  War  —  Additions  to  "  The  Star- 
spangled  Banner  "  —  The  Confederate  Flag  — 
"  Dixie,"  and  Its  Northern  Origin  —  Plagiarisms 
of  War  Music — War-song  Composers  of  the 
North — Prize  Offered  for  a  National  Hymn  — 
"  John  Brown's  Body "  —  Julia  Ward  Howe's 
Verses  —  Power  of  Home-music  during  the  War 
—  Prohibition  of  Tunes 241 

CHAPTER  X. 

Folk-songs  —  These  Also  a  Branch  of  National 
Music  —  Character  of  Nations  as  Reflected  in 
Their  Folk-songs  —  Characteristics  of  American 
Folk-songs  —  Southern  Plantation  Music  —  John 
Howard  Paine  and  "  Home,  Sweet  Home "  — 
Stephen  C.  Foster  — "Old  Folks  at  Home"  — 
Other  American  Melodies  —  Music  of  American 
Indians 261 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Progress  of  Choral  Music  —  Lowell  Mason  —  The 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society — Other  American 


viii  Contents. 

PAGE 

Choral  Societies  —  The  Beginnings  of  Orchestral 
Music  —  Gottlieb  Graupner  —  The  Academy  of 
Music  —  The  Harvard  Musical  Association  and 
Its  Work  —  The  Germania  Orchestra  —  The  Phil- 
harmonic Orchestra 272 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Music  in  New  York  —  The  Boston  Symphony  Orches- 
tra—  Other  Great  American  Orchestras  —  The 
Chicago  Orchestra — The  Great  Peace  Jubilee  — 
Keller's  "American  Hymn"  —  Musical  Condi- 
tions of  the  Present  —  The  American  National 
Hymn  of  the  Future  —  Conclusion  .  .  .  296 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

AND   MUSIC. 


PAGE 

FRANCIS  SCOTT  KEY  (photogravure)      Frontispiece 

"OLD  CHORALE" 17 

"ST.  MARY'S  TUNE"  (fac-simile)   ...       20 
"HEY,  THEN,  UP  WE  Go"  .        .        .         .26 

"  ODE  TO  COLUMBIA'S  FAVOURITE  SON  "  (fac- 
simile)      .......      62 

"  CORONATION  "  (fac-simile)    .        .        .        -77 

"  LlLLIBURLERO " 87 

"£A  IRA" 98 

"LA  CARMAGNOLE" 104 

HENRY  CAREY  (photogravure)        .        .        .118 

"YANKY  DOODLE" 136 

"COLONEL   PICKERING'S  MARCH  TO  LEXING- 
TON"  146 

JOSEPH  HOPKINSON  (photogravure)         .        .159 
9 


io  List  of  Illustrations. 


PAGE 


"  HAIL  COLUMBIA  "  (f ac-simile)       .        .  .     1 66 

"To  ANACREON  IN  HEAVEN"       .        .  .172 

"MASONIC  ODE"  (fac-simile) .         .         .  .175 

"  RISE  COLUMBIA  "  (fac-simile)        .        .  .     1 79 

"ADAMS  AND  LIBERTY"  (fac-simile)      .  .183 

"CONSTITUTION  AND  GUERRIERE  "        .  .    224 

"  THE  ALABAMA  " 233 

"SAY,  BROTHERS,  WILL  You  MEET  Us"  .    251 

JOHN  HOWARD  PAYNE  (photogravure)   .  .     269 


THE 
NATIONAL  MUSIC  OF  AMERICA 

AND   ITS   SOURCES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Introductory  —  The  Seeds  of  Puritan  Music  —  Synopsis 
of  the  Evolution  of  Congregational  Singing  —  Luther 
and  Calvin  — The  Music  of  the  Roundheads. 

IT  is  a  fallacy  to  suppose  that  congrega- 
tional music  (which  for  a  time  was  the  chief 
music  of  America)  began  with  Martin  Luther. 
It  is  true  that  Luther  used  it  in  a  degree,  and 
with  a  power,  beyond  all  of  his  predecessors 
in  theology,  but  the  inception  of  congrega- 
tional music  must  be  credited  to  the  earliest 
epoch  of  the  Christian  Church.  Not  only  was 


1 2        The  National  Music  of  America. 

there  chorus-singing  at  the  Agapae,  the  love- 
feasts  of  the  Christians  of  the  first  century, 
but  the  fathers  of  the  Church  speak  of 
choral  music  that  must  have  been  very 
much  like  the  religious  music  that  the 
Protestants  employed  centuries  later. 

The  music  of  the  time  of  the  apostles  is 
described  chiefly  by  tradition,  but  there  is  so 
much  of  verisimilitude  in  the  accounts,  and 
the  stories  agree  so  well  with  each  other, 
that  there  is  at  least  a  strong  inference  that 
congregational  music  existed  even  in  their 
epoch.  Eusebius  states  that  St.  Mark  taught 
the  first  Egyptian  converts  to  chant  their 
prayers  together;  St.  John  Chrysostom  in 
his  sixth  homily  declares  that  the  apostles 
composed  the  first  hymn ;  Tertullian  affirms 
that  the  Roman  Christians  chanted  in  deep 
tones ;  Clemens  Romanus  (contemporary  of 
St.  Paul)  states  that  at  the  evening  meal  the 
Christians  generally  sang  the  twenty-third 
Psalm,  and  there  is  evidence  that  Exodus 


The  National  Music  of  America.        1 3 

XV.  and  Daniel  III.  were  treated  in  similar, 
choral  manner ;  Origen  (in  the  second  cen- 
tury) intimates  that  the  congregations  sang 
together  in  his  day.  But  probably  the  clear- 
est statement  of  early  congregational  singing 
is  made  by  St.  John  Chrysostom  when  he 
describes  part  of  the  Christian  service  thus  : 
"The  Psalms  which  we  sing  united  all  the 
voices  in  one,  and  the  canticles  arise  harmo- 
niously in  unison.  Young  and  old,  rich  and 
poor,  women,  men,  slaves,  and  citizens,  all  of 
us  have  formed  but  one  melody  together." 

The  Catholic  Church,  however,  soon  abol- 
ished the  practice  of  congregational  music, 
although,  in  Germany,  it  still  continued,  in 
spite  of  the  prohibitions  of  councils  and  of 
popes.  The  German  priests,  finding  that 
they  could  not  prevent  their  flocks  from 
joining  in  the  musical  part  of  the  services, 
wisely  resolved  to  direct  this  popular  singing 
in  a  fitting  channel,  and  numerous  simple 
songs  in  praise  of  the  Virgin  were  composed 


14        The  National  Music  of  America. 

especially  for  this  part  of  musical  worship. 
It  was  probably  from  these  that  the  Lutheran 
chorales  first  arose. 

Some  of  these  old  congregational  melodies 
are  weirdly  intertwined  with  the  history  of 
the  time.  An  example  may  be  cited  which 
not  only  shows  the  style  of  the  Marien-lieder 
(as  these  songs  of  Mary  were  called)  but 
the  events  at  times  connected  with  them. 

During  the  fourteenth  century  the  great- 
est pestilenqe  swept  through  Europe  that 
has  ever  been  recorded  in  history.  It  was 
called  "The  Black  Death,"  and  claimed  its 
victims  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  in  every 
country  of  the  old  world.  In  that  dreadful 
epoch  men  sought  to  save  their  lives  by 
isolation.  Since  a  touch,  the  sweep  of  a 
passing  garment,  might  bring  death,  many 
barred  themselves  up  in  their  houses,  with 
such  provisions  as  they  could  gather,  and 
sustained  a  strange  siege  against  the  invisi- 
ble enemy  without.  In  such  a  manner  did 


The  National  Music  of  America.        1 5 

one  of  the  citizens  of  Goldberg,  in  Germany, 
save  his  life  until  a  Christmas  eve  in  1353.' 
He  thought  himself  the  last  inhabitant  of 
the  plague-stricken  city,  and  as  the  time 
of  the  joyous  festival  approached  he  could 
not  but  recall  how  many  of  his  old  compan- 
ions had  joined  with  him  in  merrymaking  in 
the  past  years ;  and  now  he  was  left  alone, 
in  the  midst  of  desolation.  The  thought 
must  have  been  borne  in  upon  him  that  his 
life  was  not  worth  saving  at  the  price  of 
such  loneliness,  for  he  unbarred  his  door 
and  went  out  into  the  street  to  take  the 
plague,  if  God  willed  it,  and  to  die.  As  he 
went  forth  he  sang  the  Christmas  song  that 
he  had  sung  in  the  old  days  with  his  friends, 
a  "  Marien-lied,"  entitled  "  Uns  ist  ein  Kind- 
lein  heut'  geborn."  He  was  astounded  to 
hear  a  voice  respond  to  his  own,  and  in  a 

1  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  date.  Riemann,  in  his 
"  Deutsche  Volkfeste,"  gives  it  as  1553,  which  is  probably 
an  error. 


1 6        The  National  Music  of  America. 

little  while  another  citizen  had  unbarred  his 
door  and  sang  with  him ;  as  the  two  went 
down  the  street  they  were  joined  by  another, 
and  another,  until,  when  they  had  come  to 
the  end  of  the  road  at  the  Niederring,  a  hill 
close  to  the  town,  there  was  a  little  band  of 
twenty-five,  men,  women,  and  children,  all 
that  was  left  of  the  town  of  Goldberg. 
Whether  it  was  that  the  plague  had  spent 
its  violence,  or,  which  is  more  probable,  that 
the  minds  of  the  survivors  were  more  serene 
and  less  afraid  of  death,  none  of  this  little 
band  died  of  the  Black  Death.  They  re- 
turned to  their  homes,  set  their  houses  in 
order,  buried  their  dead,  and  the  town  began 
to  prosper  anew.  But  each  Christmas  eve, 
for  centuries  after  this  event  (even  to  very 
recent  years),  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
gathered  together  at  divine  service  at  mid- 
night, and  at  two  o'clock  they  marched  to 
the  Niederring,  where  all  united  in  singing  the 
following  chorale : 


The  National  Music  of  America.        17 
OLD   CHORALE. 


-& — £- 


Uns  ist  ein  Kind-lein  Heut  ge-born. 
Jo    us  this  day    is  born     a    child. 


Gott    mit  uns.       Von      ei  -  ner  Jung-frau 
with  us.        His    moth-er   is        a 


L^lJ  X|J=^EE 

1         ' '  --  •        '•' —  ' — ^5- 


aus  -  er-korn.    Gott    mit  uns.       Gott   mit 
vir  -  gin  mild.    God  with  us.       God  with 


^H-U4^P§ 


uns.    Wer    will    sein    wid  -    er    uns? 
us.       A  -gainst    us    who    dare    bef 

But  it  was  during  the  epoch  of  the 
Reformation  that  the  seeds  were  planted 
which  afterward  became  the  earliest  music 
of  New  England.  Two  diverse  influences 
were  at  work  within  the  Protestant  lines, 
when  congregational  music  had  its  period  of 
renascence ;  on  the  one  hand  was  Martin 


1 8        The  National  Music  of  America. 

Luther,  an  ardent  musician,  who  desired  to 
approach  the  beauty  of  the  Catholic  ritual  in 
the  music  of  the  Protestant  Church ;  at  the 
other  extreme  we  find  John  Calvin,  a  bitter 
opponent  of  the  fine  arts,  a  man  who  desired 
that  the  music  of  the  Church  might  attract 
no  attention  to  itself,  but  merely  become  a 
peg  whereon  to  hang  the  rhythmic  recitation 
of  the  psalms. 

Luther  caused  hymn-books  with  tunes  to 
be  published,  his  earliest  collection  being  the 
"Enchiridion,"  printed  at  Erfurt  in  1524. 
The  last  remaining  copy  of  this  work,  pre- 
served in  the  city  library  of  Strasburg,  was 
destroyed  during  the  German  bombardment 
of  that  city  in  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  A 
Catholic  hymnal  with  tunes,  dated  seven 
years  earlier  than  the  "Enchiridion"  (the 
first  Protestant  hymn-book),  still  exists. 

It  is  a  popular  error  to  imagine  that  the 
psalms  of  the  Pilgrims  were  influenced  by 
the  music  of  Luther.  A  church  choir  would 


The  National  Music  of  America,        19 

have  been  held  in  abomination  by  the  early 
Pilgrims,  while  Luther  believed  in  alternating 
choir  music  with  congregational  singing.  A 
letter  of  the  great  reformer  still  exists,  in 
which  he  exhorts  a  poor  parish  to  make  every 
effort  to  retain  its  choir  as  a  musical  model 
for  the  congregation.  We  shall  see,  in  a 
succeeding  chapter,  how  bitter  was  the  Puri- 
tan opposition  to  organ-playing  in  divine  ser- 
vice. This  prejudice  was  entirely  Calvinistic, 
not  Lutheran ;  Luther  believed  in  the  em- 
ployment of  the  instrument  in  a  very  promi- 
nent manner.  It  was  in  the  Lutheran  epoch 
that  the  custom  of  interluding  upon  the 
organ  between  each  line  of  the  hymn  was 
first  introduced.  In  addition  to  this  display 
of  improvisation  the  hymn-tune  was  often 
given  out  with  a  degree  of  virtuosity  that  is 
incredible  to  the  modern  musician.  To  what 
an  extent  this  organ  display  was  carried  by 
later  Protestant  churches  may  be  gathered 
from  the  accompanying  reproduction  of  one 


20        The  National  Music  of  America. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        2 1 

of  the  tunes  with  its  "giving  out,"  and  in- 
terludes as  performed  in  England  in  the 
Protestant  churches  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

Before  dismissing  the  Lutheran  influence 
from  our  consideration,  it  may  be  permitted 
to  give  a  translation  of  a  poem  in  praise  of 
music,  which  Luther  wrote  as  an  introduction 
to  a  little  book  entitled  "  Lob  und  Preis  der 
loeblichen  Kunst  Musica.  By  H.  Johann 
Walter,  Wittenberg,  1538.  With  a  poetical 
introduction  by  Dr.  Luther."  The  poem 
seems  scarcely  known  to  some  of  the  biog- 
raphers of  Luther,  yet  is  important  as 
showing  the  musical  creed  of  the  re- 
former. 

"  DAME   MUSICA." 

"  Of  all  earth's  joys  inviting, 
Not  one  is  more  delighting 
Than  that  which  lies  in  singing, 
When  tender  tones  are  ringing. 
All  guilt  and  care  most  quickly  flies 
When  tones  of  singing  sweetly  rise. 


22        The  National  Music  of  America. 

And  gone  is  envy,  hate  and  wrong, 

And  sorrow  flies  off  at  the  song. 

And  malice,  avarice  and  greed, 

Far  from  the  tones  they  quickly  speed. 

And  all  is  well  within  the  heart, 

For  sin  in  singing  takes  no  part. 

God's  blessing  rests  upon  the  tune 

And  for  each  mortal  'tis  a  boon, 

Since  Satan  cannot  weave  his  spell 

Where  tones  of  Music  softly  swell. 

All  people  know  how  David's  song 

King  Saul's  existence  did  prolong ; 

His  harp-tones  and  rich  melody 

Caused  the  king's  sorrows  swift  to  fly. 

And  by  sweet  music  men  are  stirred 

To  listen  to  God's  Holy  Word. 

Eliseus  this  secret  knew 

And  played  the  harp  with  gladness  too. 

I  love  the  gentle,  fragrant  Spring, 

When  all  the  birds  begin  to  sing. 

Then  Heaven  and  Earth  have  joyous  guise 

And  many  melodies  arise. 

The  nightingale  with  tender  trill 

With  glory  all  the  woods  doth  fill. 

Her  song  can  wondrous  joy  impart, 

And  thanks  arise  in  every  heart. 

But  greater  thanks  to  God  arise, 

Who  sent  this  songster  from  the  skies 

To  be  a  model  pure  and  true 

To  all  the  souls  that  music  woo. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        23 

To  sing  God's  praises  she  delights 
Through  all  the  days  and  all  the  nights. 
To  Him,  too,  would  my  song  ascend, 
That  I  might  praise  him  without  end. 

D.  MARTIN  LUTHER." 


In  dark  contrast  with  such  a  noble  appre- 
ciation of  one  of  God's  most  glorious  gifts,  we 
have  the  distaste  of  Calvin  for  church  music, 
and  unfortunately  it  was  the  Calvinistic  lead 
that  the  English  Separatists  followed,  and 
which  moulded  the  earliest  music  of  New 
England.  The  music  of  the  Roundhead  in 
England,  and  of  the  Pilgrims  in  New  Eng- 
land, was  severe  and  ascetic.  What  stronger 
contrast  to  such  a  poem  as  the  above  can  be 
imagined  than  such  lines  as  the  following : 


"  In  the  black,  dismal  dungeon  of  despair, 
Pined  with  tormenting  care, 
Wracked  with  my  fears, 
Drowned  in  my  tears, 
With  dreadful  expectation  of  my  doom 
And  certain  horrid  judgment  soon  to  come. 


24        The  National  Music  of  America. 

Lord  here  I  lye 

Lost  to  all  hope  of  liberty."  * 

Yet  such  subjects  were  not  unusual  among 
the  pious  singers  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlan- 
tic. It  was  fortunate  for  a  good  cause  that 
the  Roundhead  fought  much  better  than  he 

1  One  could  easily  form  a  literary  "  chamber  of  hor- 
rors "  from  a  host  of  similar  religious  poems  still  existing. 
Here  is  a  cheerful  picture  of  future  punishment : 

"  Eternal  plagues  and  heavy  chains, 

Tormenting  racks  and  fiery  coals, 
And  darts  t'inflict  immortal  pains, 
Dipt  in  the  blood  of  damned  souls." 

About  the  year  1700,  Wigglesworth  published  a  poem 
(in  Boston),  on  "  Babes,  Thieves,  Heathen,  and  Heretics," 
in  which  he  sings  thus : 

"  They  wring  their  hands,  their  caitiff  hands, 
And  gnash  their  teeth  for  terror, 
They  cry,  they  roar,  for  anguish  sore, 
And  gnaw  their  tongues  for  horror. 
But  get  away  without  delay ; 
Christ  pities  not  your  cry : 
Depart  to  hell,  —  there  you  may  yell 
And  roar  eternally." 

Nor  ought  one  to  forget  the  more  modern  hymn : 

"  Oh,  lovely  appearance  of  Death ! 
No  sight  upon  Earth  is  so  fair ; 
What  glorious  pageant  of  Earth 
Can  with  a  dead  body  compare  ?  " 

It  would  be  an  easy  task  to  prove  that  gloom  and  relig- 
ion once  walked  hand  in  hand. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        25 

sang.  He  displayed  his  hatred  of  the  devices 
of  popery  by  smashing  the  organs  in  many  of 
the  English  churches  and  cathedrals.  Even 
his  war-songs  were  tinged  with  a  religious 
swing.  One  of  the  favourite  songs  of  the 
Cromwellian  soldiers  had  a  strong  flavour  of 
psalm-singing  in  its  measures.  It  was  written 
by  Francis  Quarles.1  Its  peculiar  character 
made  it  easy  to  burlesque  and  parody.  In 
the  time  of  the  restoration  the  cavaliers  of  the 
court  of  Charles  II.  added  verses  in  derision  of 
the  Puritans,  of  which  we  append  an  example. 

"  What  though  the  king  and  Parliament 

Do  not  accord  together, 
We  have  more  cause  to  be  content, 
This  is  our  sunshine  weather. 

"  A  time  may  come  to  make  us  rue 

And  time  may  set  us  free, 
Except  the  gallows  claim  his  due 
For  hey  then,  up  go  we ! " 

1  Yet  Quarles  was  a  Royalist,  and  faithful  to  Charles 
I.  Chappell  ("  National  English  Airs  "),  however,  speaks 
of  "  Hey  then  up  goe  we  "  as  "  a  great  favourite  with  the 
Roundhead  party." 


26        The  National  Music  of  America, 

We  also  append  this  song  as  Cromwell's 
men  used  to  sing  it. 

"HEY,   THEN,   UP   WE   GO." 
A  ROUNDHEAD  SONG. 

Moderate  time. 


.XT       f  >        i 

r        l    ' 

•        •         J 

(ft)  4    • 

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H  =2  ^  

<u 
Kno\ 

ir  the 

n,     my    breth   -  ren,       Heav'n     is 

9*  3  —  j 

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tr-   j  

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v~I^                        l 

cleare 

And  all    the  clouds  are    gone.    .    . 

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The  righteous  now    shall    flou-rish,  And  good 

^i  -1—  4-1-    +-I-+,      .    i      1.-; 

=i  1  — 

•         m 

-«--  ^ 

The  National  Music  of  America.        27 


w=i 


days    are       com-ing   on ; 


Come  then,my 


g^f^ir  r  ur£ 


irf 


etas 


breth  -  ren,  and  be  glad       And  eke  re  -  Joyce  with 


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££ 


p                             1    1 

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"i  —  ^  — 

v-LJ       ^^  •                   *-?"   • 

r^    • 

°                                                     1                                                 -B*- 

me.    .      .            Lawne  Sleeves  and  Roch-ets 

fl  f-  -g-  -u  -      /                 !       ! 

#i*S  f    « 

If                • 

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cj*    r 

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rr-JL 


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28        The  National  Music  of  America. 

We  have  now  passed  in  brief  review  some 
phases  of  the  inception  of  that  congregational 
and  religious  music  which  was  transplanted 
from  Europe  to  American  shores.  It  soon 
began  to  have  other  phases  of  development 
in  its  new  home.  Just  as  in  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries,  the  religious  music  of 
France,  although  born  of  the  Gregorian 
music  of  Rome,  began  to  become  a  school 
by  itself  (the  "  Cantus  Gallicanus  "),  so  the 
music  of  New  England,  an  offshoot  from 
the  Protestant  music  of  the  Old  World,  soon 
began  to  go  on  its  own  path  and  present  an 
individuality  of  its  own,  while  its  poetry  was 
taken  as  a  new  model  by  some  of  the  Prot- 
estants of  England  and  Scotland. 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  Beginning  of  American  Music  —  Difference  between 
Pilgrims  and  Puritans  —  A  Popular  Error  —  The  Bay 
Psalm-book  —  Disputes  in  the  Church  about  Singing 
—  The  "  Old  Way  "  versus  the  "  New  Way  "  —  Subse- 
quent Psalm  and  Sacred  Collections  —  Prejudice  against 
the  Organ  —  Establishment  of  Choirs. 

AMERICAN  music  was  at  first  planted  in  a 
very  sterile  soil ;  both  Pilgrims  and  Puritans 
were  opposed  to  the  development  of  the 
musical  art,  yet,  by  an  irony  of  fate,  their 
psalm-singing  became  the  cradle  which  cher- 
ished the  music  of  America.  At  the  outset 
we  must  correct  an  error  which  has  crept 
into  almost  every  history  of  this  subject  ; 
the  Pilgrims  were  not  Puritans.1  Plymouth 
was  settled  by  Pilgrims,  Boston  by  Puritans. 

1  See  "  Story  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,"  Arber,  pp.  246 
and  355,  and  "  The  Pilgrim  Republic,"  Goodwin,  pp. 
i-i3>  324»  etc. 

29 


3O        The  National  Music  of  America. 

Gradually  both  sects,  in  America,  approached 
each  other  and  were  finally  merged  as  Con- 
gregationalists. 

Who,  then,  were  the  Pilgrims  ?  All  those 
members  of  the  Separatist  Church  at  Ley- 
den,  who  voted  for  the  migration  to  America, 
whether  they  were  actually  able  to  go  there 
or  not,  together  with  such  other  members  as 
afterward  joined  their  church  from  England.1 
The  Puritans  were  reformers  who  claimed  to 
be  within  the  ranks  of  the  Church  of  England, 
a  free,  non-conformist,  and  greatly  dissatis- 
fied kind  of  Episcopalians ;  the  Separatists, 
who  subsequently  became  Pilgrims  to  Amer- 
ica, renounced  the  above  church  and  formed 
a  community  by  themselves.  They  were 
fearfully  persecuted,  even,  at  times,  by  the 
Puritans.  They  were  sometimes  contemptu- 
ously called  "  Brownites "  or  "  Brownists," 
after  Robert  Brown,  who  in  1580  warmly 
espoused  their  cause,  afterward  deserted  it, 

1  Arber,  p.  355. 


The  National  Music  of  America.       3 1 

but  was  by  no  means  its  founder.1  The 
Separatists  received  the  name  of  "  Pilgrims  " 
when  they  left  their  home  in  Leyden  (where 
they  had  been  driven  by  persecution  in  Eng- 
land), and  sought  religious  freedom  in  Amer- 
ica. The  name  appears  in  a  noble  sentence 
in  Bradford's  account  of  the  departure  : 

"  So  they  left  that  goodly  and  pleasant  city  which 
had  been  their  resting-place  near  twelve  years ;  but 
they  knew  they  were  Pilgrims,  and  looked  not  much 
on  those  things,  but  lifted  their  eyes  to  the  heavens, 
their  dearest  country,  and  quieted  their  spirits." 

It  therefore  appears  that  they  applied  the 
name  "  Pilgrim  "  to  themselves. 

When  the  Pilgrims  came  to  America,  in 
1620,  their  book  of  Psalmody  was  a  small 
volume  compiled  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Ains- 
worth,3  one  of  the  Separatist  teachers  in  the 
church  at  Amsterdam.  The  tune  was 

1  Goodwin,  p.  13. 

8 "  History  of  Music  in  New  England,"  by  George 
Hood,  p.  13.  The  version  by  Sternhold  and  Hopkins 
was,  however,  used  at  Ipswich  for  a  time  in  the  early 
colonial  days. 


32        The  National  Music  of  America, 

printed  without  any  harmony,  under  some 
of  the  very  literal  paraphrases  of  the  Psalms. 
The  poetry  often  suffered  by  the  exact  char- 
acter of  the  setting,  as  the  following  examples 
of  the  first  Psalm  may  show : 

PSALM  I.  —  SCRIPTURAL. 

"  Blessed  is  the  man  that  walketh  not  in  the  coun- 
sel of  the  ungodly,  nor  standeth  in  the  way  of  sin- 
ners, nor  sitteth  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful." 

"Therefore  the  ungodly  shall  not  stand  in  the 
judgment,  nor  sinners  in  the  congregation  of  the 
righteous." 

AINSWORTH. 

"  O  Blessed  man  that  doth  not  in 
The  wicked's  counsell  walk ; 
Nor  stand  in  sinners'  way,  nor  sit 
In  seat  of  scornful  folk. 

"  Therefore  the  wicked  shall  not  in 

The  Judgment  stand  upright : 
And  in  th'  assembly  of  the  Just 
Not  any  sinfull- wight." 

Not  all  of  Ainsworth's  selected  tunes  were 
sung  by  the  Pilgrims.  It  is  said  that  but 


The  National  Music  of  America.        33 

five  tunes  were  familiar.  Just  what  these 
five  were  is  not  absolutely  certain,  but  they 
were  probably  "Old  Hundred,"  "York," 
"Hackney,"  "Windsor,"  and  "Martyrs." 

The  order  of  service  was  a  very  simple  one. 
In  the  Separatist  congregations  in  Holland  it 
had  been  as  follows  :  Prayer  ;  Scripture,  with 
comment ;  singing  a  Psalm ;  sermon  by  the 
pastor  or  by  a  teacher ;  singing  another 
Psalm ;  sacraments  on  proper  Sundays ;  a 
collection  for  the  poor  ;  the  benediction.  It 
will  be  seen  that  music  played  no  very  im- 
portant part  in  the  proceedings.  Winthrop 
and  his  Puritans  (including  Endicott)  soon 
gave  up  their  prejudice  against  "Separatists 
and  Brownists,"  and  adopted  a  similar  ser- 
vice, but  they  had  even  less  of  music  at  Bos- 
ton, the  second  psalm-singing  not  taking 
place  in  the  service,  according  to  an  account 
written  in  i64i.x 

The  "  lining-out  "  of  a  Psalm  (reading  each 

1 "  Music  in  America,"  Ritter,  p.  9. 


34        The  National  Music  of  America. 

line  before  singing  it)  was  not  used  by  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers.  Such  a  proceeding,  most 
inartistic  from  a  musical  sense,  was  estab- 
lished by  Parliament  in  England,  in  1644. 
New  England  then  seems  to  have  taken  it 
up  with  avidity.  The  result  was  sometimes 
a  most  awkward  one,  when  the  pause  neces- 
sitated at  the  end  of  the  line,  disturbed,  or 
even  contradicted,  the  sense  of  the  poem. 
Here  is  an  example  quoted  by  Hood  in  his 
"  History  of  Music  in  New  England."  ' 

"  The  Lord  will  come,  and  He  will  not 
Keep  Silence,  but  speak  out." 

But  as  the  deacon  read  the  lines  they 
became  rather  puzzling : 

"  The  Lord  will  come,  and  he  will  not." 

Which  the  congregation  faithfully  repeated. 
After  which  came  the  rather  mystifying  re- 
quest : 

"  Keep  silence,  but  speak  out." 

xPage  20 1. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        35 

With  the  "  Bay  Psalm-book,"  this  custom 
of  lining-out,  sometimes  also  called  "  deacon- 
ing "  the  Psalm,  began. 

"The  Bay  Psalm-book"  (in  Boston  and 
vicinity,  at  least),  practically  supplanted 
Ainsworth  at  once  and  for  ever.  The  book 
was  the  first  volume  printed  in  the  polonies, 
although  Day,  its  printer,  had  issued  two 
unimportant  publications  before  it.1  The 
translation  was  made  by  various  clergymen 
of  the  colony  (there  were  about  thirty  learned 
ministers  here  in  1636),  but  Rev.  Thos. 
Weld,  Rev.  John  Eliot  (of  Roxbury),  and 
Rev.  Richard  Mather  (of  Dorchester)  were 
the  chief  workers  in  the  field.  The  faults  of 
two  of  the  poets  were  summed  up  in  a  neat 
verse  by  Mr.  Shepard,  of  Cambridge,  as 
follows : 

"  You  Roxbury  poets,  keep  clear  of  the  crime 
Of  missing  to  give  us  a  very  good  rhyme. 

1  The  first  was  the  "  Freeman's  Oath  "  (a  "  broadside  "), 
the  second  an  almanac  for  1639,  calculated  for  New 
England. 


36         The  National  Music  of  America. 

And  you  of  Dorchester  your  verses  lengthen 
And  with  the  text's  own  word  you  will  them 
strengthen." 

Mr.  Shepard's  own  fault  was  evidently  that 
of  scorning  metre.  But  the  warnings  were 
certainly  necessary,  for  the  poetry  of  the 
"  Bay  Psalm-book  "  was  often  fearfully  and 
wonderfully  made.  A  few  examples  may  be 
permitted  here. 

"  Like  as  the  heart  panting  doth  bray 

after  the  water-brooks, 
even  in  such  wise,  O  God,  my  soule 

after  Thee  panting  looks."     (Ps.  xlii,  i .) 

"  I  as  a  stranger  am  become 

unto  my  bretherren 
and  am  an  aliant  unto 

my  mother's  childerren."     (Ps.  Ixix,  8.) 

"  And  sayd  He  would  them  waste ;  had  not 

Moses  stood  (whom  He  chose) 
'fore  Him  i'th  breach  :  to  turn  his  wrath 
lest  that  He  should  waste  those." 

(Ps.  cvi,  23.) 

"  Therefore  shall  not  ungodly  men, 

rise  to  stande  in  the  doome, 
nor  shall  the  sinners  with  the  just 
in  their  assemblie  come."    (Ps.  i,  5). 


The  National  Music  of  America.       37 

The  dwelling  upon  the  doom  of  the  sinner 
(as  in  the  last  specimen)  was  always  a  choice 
morsel  to  the  litterateur  of  those  days.1  The 
influence  of  the  "  Bay  Psalm-book  "  was  enor- 
mous. It  went  through  some  thirty  editions 
in  America,  twenty-two  in  Scotland,  and 
about  twenty  in  England,  abundantly  proving 
the  final  statement  of  the  preceding  chapter. 

Whatever  faults  one  may  find  with  the 
poetry  of  the  "  Bay  Psalm-book,"  it  must  be 
admitted  that  it  was  a  close  and  literal  trans- 
lation of  the  Psalms,  in  rhyme ;  it  came  as 
near  to  the  old  Hebrew  version  as  the  Eng- 
lish Scriptural  version  itself.  Some  of  its 
selections  were  of  great  length,  the  longest 
being  130  lines.  Whatever  the  length  might 

1  The  damnation  of  babes  who  had  not  been  baptised 
was  always  a  rigid  point  with  both  Separatists  and  Puri- 
tans. Here  is  a  verse  on  the  subject  by  Nathaniel  Ward, 
the  pastor  of  Ipswich.  (The  Divine  Judge  speaks) : 

"  A  crime  it  is !    Therefore  in  Bliss 

You  may  not  hope  to  dwell ; 
But  unto  you  I  shall  allow 
The  easiest  room  in  Hell  I" 


38         The  National  Music  of  America. 

be,  the  Psalm  was  sung  standing,  for  Pilgrim 
and  Puritan  stood,  rather  than  knelt,  at  acts 
of  greatest  devotion.  There  was  no  music 
attached  to  the  poems,  the  traditional  old 
melodies  being  employed.  The  "Admoni- 
tion to  the  Reader  "  stated  the  musical  re- 
quirements clearly,  as  follows : 

"  The  verses  of  these  psalmes  may  be  reduced  to 
six  kindes,  the  first  whereof  may  be  sung  in  very 
neere  fourty  common  tunes ;  as  they  are  collected  out 
of  our  chief  musicians  by  Tho.  Ravenscroft. 

"  The  second  kinde  may  be  sung  in  three  tunes  as 
Ps.  25,  50  and  67  in  our  English  psalme  books. 

"  The  third,  may  be  sung  indifferently,  as  Ps.  the 
51,  100  and  ten  commandments,  in  our  English 
psalme  books,  which  three  tunes  aforesaid,  compre- 
hend almost  all  this  whole  book  of  psalmes,  as  being 
tunes  most  familiar  to  us." 

There  never  was  an  innovation  made  in 
the  Puritan  or  Pilgrim  church,  but  that  a 
vehement  storm  of  opposition  arose  in  some 
quarters.  This  was  an  outcome  of  the  fun- 
damental principle  of  the  Separatists,  that 
the  elders  were  the  church,  that  there  was 


The  National  Music  of  America.        39 

no  higher  authority  but  the  Divine  head,  a 
fine  example  of  religious  democracy.  The 
Scriptural  injunction,  "Tell  it  unto  the 
church"  (Matt,  xviii,  17),  meant  to  them 
that  the  church  was  to  be  a  final  arbiter, 
and  the  phrase,  "  Let  the  elders  that  rule 
well  be  counted  worthy  of  double  honour" 
(I.  Tim.  1 6),  seemed  an  incentive  to  the 
deacons  and  elders  to  assert  their  individual 
views  whenever  they  could. 

This  became  a  very  pretty  quarrel.  Some 
believed  it  right  to  sing,  but  thought  it  wrong 
to  sing  the  Psalms  of  David ;  others  believed 
that  Christians  should  not  sing  at  all,  but 
only  praise  God  with  their  hearts ;  some 
believed  it  wrong  for  any  but  Christians  to 
sing ;  and  others  thought  that  only  one  should 
sing,  while  the  assembly  should  join  in  silence, 
and  respond  Amen.1 

Boston  was  of  course  the  first  to  use  the 

1  Hood's  "  History  of  Music  in  New  England,"  pp.  33 
et  seq. 


40        The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  Bay  Psalm-book ;  "  it  was  not  used  in  Salem 
until  1667.  The  following  extract  from  the 
Church  Records  of  Plymouth  will  show  how 
long  and  faithfully  that  organisation  had 
clung  to  Ainsworth  : 

"May  i ;th,  1685.  The  Elder  stayed  the  church 
after  the  public  worship  was  ended,  and  moved  to  sing 
psalm  I3oth  in  another  translation,  because  in  Mr. 
Ainsworth's  translation,  which  we  sang,  the  tune  was 
so  difficult  few  could  follow  it  —  the  church  readily 
concented  thereunto." 

In  1692  the  Plymouth  brethren  began  to 
use  the  "  Bay  Psalm-book,"  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  extract  from  their  records  : 

"  Aug.  7th,  1692.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  Sacra- 
ment the  pastor  called  upon  the  church  to  express 
their  judgments  about  this  motion ;  the  vote  was 
this :  when  the  tunes  are  difficult  in  the  translation 
we  use,  we  will  sing  the  psalms  now  used  in  our 
neighbor  churches  in  the  Bay;  not  one  brother 
opposed  this  conclusion.  The  Sabbath  following, 
Aug.  1 4th,  we  began  to  sing  the  psalms  in  course 
according  to  the  vote  of  the  church." 

The   "in   course"   of   the   last    sentence 


The  National  Music  of  America.        41 

referred  to  the  practice  of  singing  through 
the  psalms  in  regular  order,  and  then  going 
back  to  the  beginning,  as  was  the  custom  in 
Plymouth  and  in  some  of  the  other  churches 
of  the  Bay. 

Up  to  about  this  time  it  was  the  custom  of 
those  who  used  the  "Bay  Psalm-book"  to 
write  the  music  in  against  the  verses,  but,  as 
they  were  familiar  with  but  few  of  the  mel- 
odies (Ravenscroft's  selections  were  chiefly 
used),  it  often  happened  that  only  a  half-dozen 
tunes  were  thus  written.  Many  congrega- 
tions had  only  three  or  four  tunes  that  they 
could  sing  passably  well.  This  great  defect 
was  overcome  about  1690  by  printing  the 
music  in  the  psalm-books.  The  oldest  exist- 
ing music  of  American  imprint  is  dated  1698, 
but  there  is  evidence  that  there  were  earlier 
editions.  The  printing  of  the  Boston  edition 
of  1698  is  very  poorly  done  and  contains 
many  errors.  The  tunes  given  are  "  Litch- 
field,"  "Canterbury"  (or  "Low  Dutch"), 


42        The  National  Music  of  America. 

"York,"  "Windsor,"  "Cambridge,"  "St. 
Davids,"  "  Martyrs,"  "  Hackney  "  (or  "  St. 
Marys,"  as  it  was  sometimes  called),1  the 
looth,  ii5th,  iiQth,  and  I48th  psalm-tunes. 
Here  are  a  few  of  the  directions  printed  in 
the  book,  for  the  guidance  of  the  singers. 

"  Observe  how  many  notes  compass  the  tune  is. 
Next  the  place  of  your  first  note;  and  how  many 
notes  above  and  below  that ;  so  as  you  may  begin 
the  tune  of  your  first  note,  as  the  rest  may  be  sung 
in  the  compass  of  your  and  the  people's  voices,  with- 
out squeaking  above  or  grumbling  below." 

These  directions  naturally  referred  to  the 
setting  or  pitching  of  the  tune,  in  a  day  when 
pitch-pipes  and  tuning-forks  did  not  exist. 

If  there  had  been  a  quarrel  when  the  "  Bay 
Psalm-book"  came  in  to  replace  Ainsworth's 
collection,  there  was  an  absolute  tempest 
when  singing  by  note  was  to  replace  sing- 

1  Ritter  ("  Music  in  America ")  not  only  confounds 
Puritans  and  Pilgrims,  but  gives  "  Hackney "  and  "  St. 
Marys  "  as  two  different  tunes,  in  an  important  list,  (p.  9), 
a  decided  and  very  remarkable  error. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        43 

ing  by  ear.  Singing  from  printed  music  was 
soon  called  "  the  new  way,"  singing  by  rote 
"the  old  way,"  and  many  were  the  argu- 
ments pro  and  con  regarding  these  two  ways. 
Here  are  some  of  the  written  objections 
to  the  new  system  : 

"  I  st,  it  is  a  new  way  —  an  unknown  tongue.  2nd, 
it  is  not  so  melodious  as  the  old  way.  3rd,  there  are 
so  many  tunes  that  nobody  can  ever  learn  them.  4th, 
the  new  way  makes  disturbance  in  churches,  grieves 
good  men,  exasperates  them  and  causes  them  to 
behave  disorderly.  5th,  it  is  popish.  6th,  it  will 
introduce  instruments.  7th,  the  names  of  the  notes 
are  blasphemous.  8th,  it  is  needless,  the  old  way 
being  good  enough,  pth,  it  requires  too  much  time 
to  learn  it.  loth,  it  makes  the  young  disorderly." 

But  there  were  reverend  men  of  culture 
then  existing,  who  would  not  give  way  to 
the  clamour,  and  Symmes,  Thacher,  Walter, 
Dwight,  Danforth,  Mather,  Stoddard,  and  a 
host  of  other  divines,  arose  in  favour  of  the 
"new  way,"  fighting  for  musical  progress  as 
the  Rev.  John  Cotton  had  done  a  century 
before  (1647).  A  writer  in  the  New  Eng- 


44        The  National  Music  of  America. 

land  Chronicle,  in    1723,  gave  his  views  as 
follows  : l 

"  Truly  I  have  a  great  jealousy  that  if  we  once 
begin  to  sing  by  rule,  the  next  thing  will  be  to  pray 
by  rule,  and  preach  by  rule  ;  and  then  comes  popery." 

In  The  New  England  Courant  of  Sept. 
1 6,  1723  (afterward  Benjamin  Franklin's 
paper),  we  read : 

"  Last  week  a  Council  of  Churches,  etc.,  was  held 
in  the  South  part  of  Braintree  to  regulate  the  dis- 
orders occasioned  by  regular  singing  at  that  place." 

Before  this  time  there  had  been  great  rev- 
erence for  all  psalm-singing  in  every  part  of 
the  colony,  as  is  proved  by  the  doffing  of  caps 
when  any  psalm-tune  was  sung  anywhere, 
and  by  the  fact  that  in  Plymouth,  in  1660, 
"  Robert  Bartlett  having  spoken  contemptu- 
ously of  the  ordinance  of  psalm-singing,  was 
censured  by  the  General  Court." 

The  "  old  way  "  must  have  been  the  acme 
of  all  that  was  inartistic,  judging  by  the 

1  Quoted  by  Brooks,  "  Olden-time  Music,"  p.  20. 


The  National  Music  of  America,       45 

accounts  that  are  left  of  it.  Rev.  Dr. 
Walter '  said  of  it  that  it  "  sounded  like 
five  hundred  different  tunes  roared  out  at 
the  same  time."  So  little  attention  was 
paid  to  time  that  the  singers  were  often 
two  words  apart,  "  producing  noises,"  con- 
tinues Mr.  Walter,  "so  hideous  and  disor- 
derly, as  is  bad  beyond  expression." 

To  turn  again  to  the  defenders  of  the 
"old  way;"  here  are  a  few  of  the  "ques- 
tions of  conscience  "  which  they  put  to  their 
opponents  : 2 

"  Whether  you  do  believe  that  singing  in  the  wor- 
ship of  God  ought  to  be  done  skilfully  ? 

"  Whether  you  do  believe  that  skillfulness  in  sing- 
ing may  ordinarily  be  gained  in  the  use  of  outward 
means,  by  the  blessing  of  God  ? 

1  Rev.  Thomas   Walter,  of   Roxbury,   Mass.,  who   so 
heartily  defied    the   adherents   of    the  "  old  way,"  that, 
in   1721,  he   brought   out   "The  Grounds  and  Rules  of 
Musick  Explained  "  —  the  first  practical  American  book 
of  musical  instruction. 

2  Quoted  from  a  tract,  entitled,  "  Cases  of  Conscience 
about  Singing  Psalms,  Briefly  Considered  and  Resolved." 
1723. 


46        The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  Whether  they  who  purposely  sing  a  tune  differ- 
ent from  that  which  is  appointed  by  the  pastor  or 
elder  to  be  sung,  are  not  guilty  of  acting  disorderly, 
and  of  taking  God's  name  in  vain  also,  by  disturbing 
the  order  of  the  Sanctuary  ?  " 

As  late  as  Aug.  21,  1771,  John  Adams 
bears  witness  to  the  continued  existence  of 
the  two  schools  of  song,  by  writing  in  his 
Diary: 

"  Went  to  meeting  at  the  old  Presbyterian  Soci- 
ety; the  Psalmody  is  an  exact  contrast  to  that  of 
Hartford.  It  is  in  the  old  way  as  we  call  it,  — all 
the  drawling,  quavering  discord  in  the  world." 

The  battle  began  with  the  opening  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  But,  if  there  were  evi- 
dences of  musical  barbarism  in  New  Eng- 
land at  this  time,  there  were  also  decided 
proofs  of  musical  progress. 

A  work  published  in  London,  in  1673, 
entitled :  "  Observations  Made  by  the  Curi- 
ous in  New  England,"  informs  us  that  "in 
Boston  there  are  no  musicians  by  trade.  A 
dancing-school  was  set  up  but  put  down  ;  a 


The  National  Music  of  America.        47 

fencing-school  is  allowed."  But  in  1717  we 
find  a  singing  society  begun  in  Boston,  "to 
practice  singing  by  note." 

In  1712  the  Rev.  John  Tufts,  of  New- 
bury,  brought  out  a  collection  of  psalm- 
tunes  ;  about  two  years  later  he  followed  it 
with  a  second  volume.  The  ice  was  broken, 
and  from  this  time  on  there  followed  a 
succession  of  sacred  collections  in  sufficient 
profusion  to  prove  that  New  England  was 
musical  in  at  least  one  direction. 

The  next  step  forward  was  the  establish- 
ment of  choirs.  We  have  seen,  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  that  Martin  Luther  believed 
in  a  combination  of  choir  and  congregational 
singing ;  the  Congregationalists  of  New  Eng- 
land (for  the  name  was  now  applied  to  the 
churches  of  the  colony)  came  to  this  result 
about  250  years  later  than  the  German  re- 
former. The  strife  between  the  adherents 
and  opponents  of  the  "  new  way  "  had  led  to 
a  revolution  in  music ;  a  lesser  revolution 


48        The  National  Music  of  America. 

now  took  place  against  the  habit  of  "dea- 
coning" or  "lining-out"  the  psalms  and 
hymns.  Doctor  Watts's  Psalms  '  were  used 
in  the  colony  from  1741,  when  the  first  New 
England  edition  was  printed.  In  the  preface 
of  this  work  the  author  rebukes  the  custom 
of  "  lining-out  "  thus  : 

"  It  were  to  be  wished  that  all  congregations  and 
private  families  would  sing  as  they  do  in  foreign 
Protestant  countries,  without  reading  line  by  line. 
Though  the  author  has  done  what  he  could  to  make 
the  sense  complete  in  every  line  or  two ;  yet  many 
inconveniences  will  always  attend  this  unhappy 
manner  of  singing." 

In  some  churches  the  clergyman  was  able 
to  put  aside  the  custom  without  any  ado,  but 
in  many  cases  the  elders,  deacons,  and  gen- 
eral congregation  indulged  in  their  customary 
squabble  over  the  matter,  and  there  were 

1  An  edition  of  Watts's  Hymns  was  printed  by  Doctor 
Franklin  in  Philadelphia  in  the  same  year  that  the  New 
England  (Boston)  edition  of  Watts's  Psalms  was  issued, — 
1741. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        49 

plenty  of  combatants  on  the  side  of  "the 
good  old  way." 

The  beginning  of  choirs  was  less  tumultu- 
ous, because  more  gradual.  The  singing- 
schools  (for  many  others  followed  the  one 
which  Boston  established  in  1717)  were  an 
important  factor  in  the  advance,  for  the 
congregations  were  no  longer  on  the  same 
level  of  musical  ability,  or  rather  weakness ; 
the  members  who  were  skilled  in  music  were 
apt  to  gather  together,  without  any  express 
command  from  the  minister,  and  without 
being  assigned  to  any  especial  position  in 
the  meeting-house.  Choirs  had  therefore 
crept  into  some  churches  before  1750, 
although  there  is  no  official  record  of  the 
fact.  When  official  recognition  was  given, 
the  custom  had  become  so  habitual  that  no 
earnest  remonstrance  was  made,  even  by 
the  chronic  obstructionists. 

Here  are  a  few  of  the  earliest  edicts 
regarding  New  England  church  choirs : 


50        The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  1 762.  The  parish  voted  that  those  who  had 
learned  the  art  of  singing  may  have  liberty  to  sit  in 
the  front  gallery.  They  did  not  take  the  liberty. 

"  1 780.  The  parish  requested  Jonathan  Chaplin, 
Jr.,  and  Lieutenant  Spafford  to  assist  Deacon 
Daniel  Spafford  in  raising  the  tune  in  the  Meeting 
house. 

"1785.  The  parish  desire  the  singers,  both  male 
and  female,  to  sit  in  the  gallery,  and  will  allow  them 
to  sing  once  upon  each  Lord's  day  without  reading  by 
the  deacon.'1''  ("  History  of  Rowley,"  p.  93.) 

The  last  sentence  explains  why  the  singers 
rejected  the  first  proposal ;  they  were  evi- 
dently opposed  to  the  "  lining-out "  system. 

"1773.  The  seats  for  the  choir  were  designated 
by  the  First  Parish  in  Ipswich,  being  two  back  on 
each  side  of  the  front  alley."  ("  History  of  Ipswich.") 

A  similar  provision  was  made  at  the  Ham- 
let (now  called  Hamilton,  Mass.)  in  1764,  in 
Chebacco  in  1788,'  and  the  custom  was  soon 
imitated  by  many  other  parishes.  Worcester 
came  into  line  in  1770-1773.  A  final  combat 
on  the  "  lining-out "  question  took  place  here 

1  Felt's  "  History  of  Ipswich." 


The  National  Music  of  America.        5 1 

in  1779,  on  the  first  Sunday  that  the  choir 
displayed  its  abilities. 

"  After  the  hymn  had  been  read  by  the  minister, 
the  aged  and  venerable  Deacon  Chamberlain,  unwill- 
ing to  desert  the  custom  of  his  fathers,  rose  and  read 
the  first  line  according  to  the  usual  practice.  The 
singers,  prepared  to  carry  the  alteration  into  effect, 
proceeded  without  pausing  at  the  conclusion.  The 
white-haired  officer  of  the  church  with  the  full  power 
of  his  voice  read  on,  until  the  louder  notes  of  the 
collected  body  overpowered  the  attempt  to  resist  the 
progress  of  improvement,  and  the  deacon,  deeply 
mortified  at  the  triumph  of  musical  reformation, 
seized  his  hat  and  retired  from  the  Meeting  house 
in  tears."  ("  History  of  Worcester.") 

In  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
because  of  the  victory  of  the  choirs  and 
singing-schools,  books  of  music  began  to 
follow  each  other  with  great  profusion. 
Newburyport,  Northampton,  Worcester,  and 
Boston,  all  sent  forth  their  various  musical 
collections.  "The  American  Harmony," 
"The  Gentleman  and  Ladies  Musical  Com- 
panion," "The  Psalm-singer's  Amusement," 


52        The  National  Music  of  America. 

"The  Massachusetts  Harmony,"  "The  Suf- 
folk Harmony,"  and  "  Laus  Deo,"  all  fol- 
lowed in  quick  succession,1  the  last  named 
being  especially  interesting,  from  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  first  book  printed  from 
music  type  in  this  country,  all  its  prede- 
cessors being  engraved  works.  Naturally, 
with  such  a  musical  activity  going  on 

1  In  order  that  the  list  of  eighteenth  century  music-books 
may  be  reasonably  complete,  we  append  the  following  table 
of  dates  and  titles :  Rev.  John  Tufts's  "  Easy  introduction 
to  the  Art  of  Singing  Psalm  tunes,"  Newbury,  1712  (?) ; 
"  An  Introduction  to  the  singing  of  Psalm  tunes,"  by  the 
same  author,  Boston,  1714;  "  Psalterium  Americanum," 
Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  1718  ;  "  Grounds  and  Rules  of  Musick 
explained,"  Dr.  Thomas  Walter,  1721 ;  "  Watts'  Psalms," 
Boston,  1741  ;  "  Tate  and  Brady's  Psalms,"  1741  (?) ;  "  Bar- 
nard's Psalms,"  Boston,  1752;  Prince's  revision  of  the 
"Bay  Psalm-book,"  1758;  "A  Collection  of  the  best 
Psalm  tunes,"  Josiah  Flagg,  Boston,  1764  (engraved  by 
Paul  Revere;  the  largest  collection  up  to  this  time  in 
New  England,  and,  for  the  first  time,  we  find  light  music 
intermingled  with  the  psalm-tunes) ;  "  Grounds  and  Rules 
of  Music,"  Bayley,  Newburyport,  1764;  "The  New  Eng- 
land Psalm-singer,  or  American  Chorister,"  Billings,  Bos- 
ton, 1770;  after  these  (between  1770  and  1800)  there 
appeared  nearly  forty  different  volumes  devoted  to  music, 
almost  invariably  of  the  sacred  order. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        53 

throughout  New  England,  there  was  also 
some  agitation  regarding  instrumental  music. 
A  few  bold  spirits  desired  to  introduce  the 
organ  into  the  divine  service  here,  as  it  was 
used  in  foreign  countries  ;  but  in  this  matter 
the  victory  was  gained  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  and  the  conflict  of  opinions  lasted 
a  full  century. 

As  early  as  1713,  Mr.  Brattle,  a  Puritan 
of  Boston,  but  a  man  of  artistic  instincts, 
and  much  more  liberal  than  his  fellow  citi- 
zens in  theological  matters,  gave,  by  will,  an 
organ  to  the  Brattle  Square  Church,  with  the 
condition  that  the  offer  should  be  accepted 
within  a  year  after  his  decease,  and  they 
should  "  procure  a  sober  person  to  play  skil- 
fully thereon  with  a  loud  noise."  The  sly 
quotation  from  the  Scripture  shows  that  Mr. 
Brattle  felt  that  the  pill  needed  some  sugar- 
coating,  and  his  doubts  upon  the  subject  are 
further  illustrated  by  a  proviso,  by  which,  if 
his  church  declined  the  proffered  gift,  it  was 


54        The  National  Music  of  America. 

to  be  offered  to  King's  Chapel,1  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Church  of  England  in  Boston 
at  that  time.  The  vote  of  the  Puritan  church 
was  overwhelmingly  against  the  innovation, 
and  the  sentence,  "  We  do  not  think  it 
proper  to  use  the  same  in  the  public  worship 
of  God,"  is  terse  and  to  the  point.  The 
organ  was  therefore  given  to  King's  Chapel, 
which  used  it  until  1/56,  when  a  new 
and  larger  one  was  bought.  An  organist 
was  imported  from  London  to  play  upon 
the  instrument.  This  was  the  first  pipe- 
organ  set  up  in  a  New  England  church,  and 
its  coming  caused  about  as  much  commotion 
as  the  entrance  of  the  wooden  horse  into 
Troy ;  Cotton  Mather,  who  believed  in  con- 
gregational singing,  and  had  helped  the 

1  The  edifice  still  stands  at  the  corner  of  School  and 
Tremoht  Streets,  and  the  old  organ  is  also  still  in  exist- 
ence; the  instrument  was  sold,  in  1756,  to  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Newburyport,  which,  in  1836,  sold  it  to  St. 
John's  Church  in  Portsmouth,  where  it  is  said  to  be  in 
reasonably  good  condition  even  now. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        5  5 

musical  cause  with  an  excellent  translation 
of  the  Psalms  for  vocal  purposes,  burst  forth 
in  fierce  diatribes  when  the  organ  was  inau- 
gurated, and  denounced  the  wickedness  of 
Boston  roundly,  in  his  Thursday  lecture.1 

There  is  inferential  proof  that  the  Puri- 
tans did  not  bother  themselves  with  instru- 
mental music  of  any  kind.  Henry  M.  Brooks, 
in  his  "  Olden-Time  Music,"  says  (p.  33)  : 

"  An  examination  of  the  earliest  '  inventories  '  in 
the  Probate  Office  of  Essex  County  fails  to  find 
record  of  any  musical  instruments  appraised  in  the 
estates  settled  therein.  While  every  pot,  skillet, 
gridiron,  article  of  wearing-apparel,  old  chair  and 
table,  bed,  bolster,  and  pillow,  silver  spoon,  pewter 
dish,  bushel  of  corn,  indeed  articles  of  the  most 
trifling  nature,  are  carefully  enumerated,  no  lutes, 

1  The  weekly  "  lectures  "  in  Boston  were  of  the  nature 
of  prayer-meetings,  and  the  address  was  not  at  all  differ- 
ent from  what  we  to-day  would  call  a  sermon.  As  regards 
the  singing  of  psalms,  Cottton  Mather  thus  expresses 
himself :  "  The  singing  of  psalms  is  a  supplicating  of 
God  himself,  wherein  by  humble  prayer  we  beg  the  par- 
don of  our  sins."  Dr.  Cotton  Mather  was  the  most 
voluminous  writer  in  the  colonies,  his  publications 
amounting  to  three  hundred  and  eighty-two  works  I 


56        The  National  Music  of  America, 

citterns,  spinets,  harpsichords,  flutes  or  viols  are 
mentioned.  This  would  seem  to  show  that  the  early 
settlers  did  not  possess  these  instruments,  or  that  at 
least  they  must  have  been  rarely  seen  here." 

Although  we  have  called  the  organ  de- 
scribed above  the  earliest  of  New  England, 
there  evidently  was  a  more  primitive  instru- 
ment in  existence  in  Boston,  in  Mr.  Brattle's 
house,  in  1711,  for  in  the  Diary  of  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Green,  published  by  the  Essex  Insti- 
tute (collection  of  1869,  May),  we  read, 
under  date  of  May  29,  1711  :  "I  was  at  Mr. 
Thomas  Brattle's;  heard  ye  organs."  But 
the  information  is  very  vague.1 

1  Mr.  Brattle  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  culture,  certainly  far  in  advance  of  his  surround- 
ings. It  would  be  delightful  to  ascertain  what  kind  of  an 
organ  he  .had  at  his  house,  but  the  Rev.  Doctor  Green  is 
tantalisingly  brief  in  all  his  notes.  He  visited  Boston  in 
May,  1711,  as  the  following  note  indicates  : 

"  May  28th.  I  went  to  Boston  with  my  daughter  Ann ; 
log'd  at  Brother  Gerrish." 

This  is  immediately  followed  by  the  important  note : 

"  May  29th.  I  was  at  Thomas  Brattle's,  heard  ye 
organs  and  saw  strange  things  in  a  microscope." 

This  unsatisfactory  notice  is  the  first  mention  of  the 
instrument  in  the  colony. 


The  National  Music  of  America,        57 

The  second  organ  of  New  England  was  set 
up  at  Newport  (Trinity  Church),  in  1733. 

It  is  curious  to  find  a  young  Bostonian,  a 
Harvard  graduate,  Edward  Bromfield,  Jr., 
building  an  organ,  unaided,  in  1745,  but  as 
the  talented  young  man  died  the  next  year, 
at  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  was  unable 
to  complete  his  instrument  (he  intended  it  to 
have  twelve  hundred  pipes),  and  we  find  no 
record  of  its  being  set  up  or  used  in  any 
church. 

In  1770,  for  the  first  time  in  American 
history,  a  Congregational  church  allowed  an 
organ  to  be  used  in  its  service,  but  this  hap- 
pened in  Providence,  where  bigoted  lines  were 
never  very  strongly  drawn. 

The  chronology  of  the  early  New  England 
church  organs  would  seem  to  be  about  as 
follows :  King's  Chapel,  Boston,  the  first ; 
Trinity  Church,  Newport,  the  second ; 
Trinity  Church,  Boston,  the  third ;  Christ 
Church,  Boston,  the  fourth,  and  St.  Peter's 


58         The  National  Music  of  America. 

Church,  Salem,  the  fifth,  none  of  these  being 
Congregational  or  Puritan  churches. 

In  1790  the  Brattle  Square  Church,  which 
had  declined  the  offer  of  the  first  church 
organ  of  New  England,  changed  its  mind 
regarding  the  wickedness  of  the  matter,  and 
ordered  an  organ  built  in  London,  probably 
the  second  used  in  a  Congregational  church 
in  New  England.1  It  will  serve  to  show 
how  slowly  the  prejudice  against  the  instru- 
ment was  dying  out,  when  it  is  stated  that 
one  of  its  leading  members  offered  to  pay 
back  to  the  church  all  its  outlay,  and  even  to 
give  a  sum  to  the  poor  of  Boston,  if  they 
would  allow  him  to  cause  the  unhallowed  in- 
strument to  be  thrown  into  Boston  Harbour  ! 

Nor  was  this  prejudice  confined  to  America 
only  ;  in  Scotland  it  is  even  to-day  not  entirely 

1 A  German  musician,  named  Hans  Gram,  was  the 
organist.  He  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  leading 
musicians  of  the  country  at  that  time.  A  few  years  later  a 
better  foreign  musician  came  to  Boston,  —  Gottlieb  Graup- 
ner,  of  whom  we  shall  speak  in  a  later  chapter. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        59 

eradicated ;  in  Boston,  a  century  ago,  one  of 
the  Congregational  churches  appealed  to  its 
London  benefactor,  the  wealthy  Mr.  Hollis, 
for  assistance  in  establishing  an  organ  in 
their  meeting-house.  He  promptly  responded 
by  sending  them  five  hundred  copies  of  a 
tract,  entitled  "The  Christian  religion  shines 
brightest  in  its  own  dress,  and  to  paint  it  is 
but  to  deform  it." 

The  bass  viol  (violoncello)  was  accepted  in 
some  Congregational  churches  long  before 
the  organ  was  tolerated. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Beginnings  of  Secular  Music  in  New  England  —  Early 
Concerts  —  Strange  Programmes  —  Ecstatic  Criticism 
—  Prices  of  Teaching  —  Beginning  of  Native  Compo- 
sitions —  William  Billings  —  Oliver  Holden  —  First 
Musical  Typography. 

IN  1798  the  following  advertisement  ap- 
peared in  the  Columbian  Centinel  (Boston) : 

"  Just  published,  price  i  dollar,  neatly  bound  and 
lettered,  sold  by  E.  Larkin,  No.  47  Cornhill,  '  The 
Columbian  Songster,'  and  Free  Mason's  <  Pocket  Com- 
panion.' A  collection  of  the  newest  and  most  cele- 
brated Sentimental,  Convivial,  Humorous,  Satirical, 
Pastoral,  Hunting,  Sea,  and  Masonic  Songs,  being 
the  largest  and  best  collection  ever  published  in 
America.  Selected  by  S.  Larkin." 

The  above  is  a  proof  that  music  had  left 
the  circumscribed  limits  of  psalm  singing  in 
Boston.  A  similar  collection  (in  possession 
of  the  author)  is  entitled  "The  American 
Musical  Miscellany,"  and  was  published  in 
60 


The  National  Music  of  America,        61 

the  same  year  in  Northampton,  Mass.  In 
the  preface  of  the  latter  work  the  following 
sentence  occurs : 

"  A  general  preference  has  been  given  to  Ameri- 
can productions,  and  perhaps  nothing  will  more 
effectually  exhibit  the  progress  of  the  human  mind  in 
the  refinements  which  characterize  the  age,  than  the 
songs,  which  from  general  consent,  are  now  in  vogue." 

That  this  boasting  preamble  was  not  carried 
out  in  the  American  musical  numbers  of  that 
time  may  readily  be  seen  from  the  following 
composition,  which  is  by  no  means  poorer  than 
other  American  compositions  in  the  book. 

Concerts  of  secular  music  had  also  now 
begun.  As  early  as  1756,  a  public-spirited 
citizen,  named  Stephen  Deblois,  built  a 
"Concert  Hall"  in  Boston,1  and  many  enter- 

1  This  stood  on  the  southern  corner  of  Hanover  and 
Court  Streets.  This  was  at  that  time  the  fashionable  end 
of  the  town.  Washington  Street  was  at  that  time  called 
Marlboro  Street,  its  northern  extremity  was  called  Corn- 
hill,  its  extreme  southern  end,  on  "the  neck,"  was  the 
only  part  then  called  Washington  Street.  North  Street, 
Cornhill,  India  Street,  and  Broad  Street  were  fashionable 
thoroughfares,  the  last-named  containing  the  finest  shops. 


62        The  National  Music  of  America. 


ODE  TO  COLUMBIA'S  FAVOURITE  SON. 

Sung  bj  the  fKotrmriHT  MortCAt  Soci»TT,on  the  trtifilef  Tut  PmtoUT 

at  the  TRIUMPHAL  A«cn,  in  BoJ3-ox,Oaobcri4, 175,9. 


lOt'—Ttt  S»ft  ta  Ibu  part  Itjkifunf  wj  fiftly  tj  cut  ttei«. 


Great  VVifhington,  the  Hero*<  eaffie,  Etch  heart  exul(id(  heart  tbe  found ;  See  I 


(hovfandi  their d:-lit' •  rer  throng,  And  diout       him    wel  •  come    all  j  -  round. 


Now       in  fall  choral  baift  the  Jong,  And  (Bout  the  deed>  of  Wafhington  I 
tS. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        63 

tainments  were  given  there.  Other  concerts 
took  place  frequently  in  Brattle  Street,  where 
a  "Music  Hall"  existed. 

In  the  early  concerts  music  was  combined 
with  dancing,  for  not  only  were  there  occa- 
sional fancy  dances  given  in  the  programme, 
but  the  concert  was  frequently  followed  by  a 
ball,  both  entertainments  being  given  at  a 
single  admission.  The  following  from  the 
Boston  Chronicle  (A  November  I,  1768,  speaks 
for  itself : 

"  This  is  to  acquaint  the  Gentlemen  and  Ladies 

that  a 
CONCERT,  of   MUSIC 

will  be  performed 

On  Monday,  the  2ist  inst.,  at  Six  o'Clock  in  the 
Evening,  at  the  Music  Hall  in  Brattle-Street,  opposite 
Dr.  Cooper's  Meeting-House.  After  the  concert  is 
over,  the  Gentlemen  and  Ladies  may  have  a  Ball  till 
Eleven  o'clock." 

The  tickets  were  one  shilling  and  sixpence 
sterling,  not  an  exorbitant  price.  We  are 
sorry  to  see  the  connection  between  music 
and  dancing  carried  so  far  that  the  organist 


64        The  National  Music  of  America. 

of  Trinity  Church,  in  1774,  advertises  that 
he  is  about  to  open  a  dancing •-  school  in 
addition  to  his  musical  duties. 

There  were  earlier  secular  concerts  than 
the  one  mentioned  above.  The  earliest  of 
which  we  have  any  record  was  given  in 
Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  in  1744,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  poor,  while,  less  than  a  score  of 
years  later,  Mr.  Dipper,1  organist  of  King's 
Chapel,  was  constantly  giving  musical  enter- 
tainments and  exhibitions.  The  tickets  to 
these  concerts  were  generally  half  a  dollar 
each. 

The  programmes  were  sometimes  of  a 
very  heterogeneous  description,  as  witness 
the  following  one,  given  in  Salem,  May  15, 
1798- 

PART    1ST. 

Grand  Symphony.  By  Pleyl 

Song :  On  by  the  spur  of  valour  goaded,  Mr. 

Collins.  Shield 

1  Hawthorne  alludes  to  this  musician  in  "  Twice-told 
Tales." 

a  Quoted  by  Brooks,  "  Olden-Time  Music,"  p.  167. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        65 

Clarinet  Quartette,  Messrs.  Granger,  Lau- 

mont,  von  Hagen  and  Graupner.  Vogel 

Song :  He  pipes  so  sweet,  Mrs.  Graupner.  Hook 

Concerto  on  the  French  Horn,  Mr.  Rosier.  Ponton 
A  favorite  new  song:  Little  Sally's  wooden 

ware,  Miss  Solomon.  Arnold 

Full  Piece.  Hayden 

PART   2ND. 

Quartetto  :  Who  shall  deserve  the  glowing 
Praise,  Mrs.  Graupner,  Mr.  Granger, 
Mr.  Collins,  and  Mr.  Mallet.  Linly 

Concerto  on  the  Clarinet  composed  and  per- 
formed by  Mr.  Shaffer. 

A  new  favorite  echo  Song:  How  do  you 
Do?  Mrs.  Graupner  and  accompanied 
on  the  Hautboy  by  Mr.  Graupner.  Hook 

Concerto  on  the  Violin,  Laumont.  Foder 

A  comic  Irish  Song:  Boston  News,  Mr. 
Collins. 

Concerto  on  the  Hautboy,  the  composition 
of  the  celebrated  Fisher,  Mr.  Graupner. 

Duet,  Hey  Dance  to  the  Fiddle  and  Tabor, 
from  the  much  admired  Opera  of  Lock 
and  Key,  Mrs.  Graupner  and  Mr. 
Collins. 

Finale.  Pleyl 

Number  of  performers,  12.    Doors  to  be  opened 
at  6  o'clock  and  the  performance  to  begin  precisely 


66        The  National  Music  of  America. 

at  half  after  seven.  In  consequence  of  the  advice  of 
some  friends,  Mr.  Graupner  has  reduced  the  price 
of  the  Tickets  to  half  a  Dollar  each." 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  such  an 
olla  podrida  of  music  was  below  the  aver- 
age of  the  epoch ;  on  the  contrary,  the  above 
concert  was  given  by  the  best  musician  of 
America,  up  to  that  time.1  The  most  prom- 
inent musician  before  Graupner's  time  (we 
shall  hear  more  of  Graupner  in  a  later 
chapter)  was  Josiah  Flagg.  Mr.  Flagg  com- 
piled and  published,  in  1764,  the  largest 
musical  collection  that  had  ever  been  printed 
in  New  England ;  but  he  did  more  than  this, 
in  1773  he  established  a  band,  became  its 
leader,  and  gave  many  concerts  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  and  elsewhere,  on  one  occasion  direct- 
ing fifty  musicians.2 

The  American  composer  now  enters  upon 

1  Beethoven's  fifth  symphony  was  performed  in  Boston 
less  than  seventy  years  ago,  divided  into  three  sections,  with 
lighter  music  interspersed,  for  fear  that  the  audience 
would  grow  weary ! 

*  Hitter's  "  Music  in  America,"  p.  44. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        67 

the  scene.  It  will  readily  be  understood, 
however,  that  from  such  seeds  as  we  have 
described  no  very  bountiful  harvest  of  native 
compositions  could  result.  The  first  attempts 
were  rather  puerile.  The  first  composer  of 
even  local  reputation  was  William  Billings. 

In  1770  the  first  book  of  native  compo- 
sition appeared  in  the  musical  field.  It  was 
entitled  "  The  New  England  Psalm-singer  : 
or  American  Chorister.  Containing  a  num- 
ber of  Psalm-tunes,  Anthems,  and  Canons. 
In  four  and  five  parts.  (Never  before  pub- 
lished.) Composed  by  William  Billings,  a 
Native  of  Boston,  in  New  England.  Math. 
XXI,  1 6.  'Out  of  the  Mouth  of  Babes 
and  Sucklings  hast  Thou  perfected  Praise.' 
James  V,  1 3,  *  Is  any  merry  ?  Let  him 
sing  Psalms.' 

" '  O,  Praise  the  Lord  with  one  consent, 
And  in  this  grand  design, 
Let  Britain  and  the  Colonies 
Unanimously  join.' 


68        The  National  Music  of  America. 

Boston,  New  England.     Printed  by  Edes  & 
Gill." 

It  has  become  quite  the  fashion  to  point 
shafts  of  sarcasm  at  Billings,  and  it  must 
be  confessed  that  some  of  his  music  builds 
a  wofully  ambitious  edifice  out  of  very  slen- 
der material ;  yet  occasionally  one  finds  a 
peculiar  strength  in  some  of  the  expressions 
of  his  muse,  and  he  may  well  be  called  a 
musical  John  Bunyan.  There  is  a  certain 
vigour  in  : 

"  Let  tyrants  shake  their  iron  rod, 

And  Slavery  clank  her  galling  chains ; 
We'll  fear  them  not,  we'll  trust  in  God ; 
New  England's  God  forever  reigns." 

The  man  himself  was  an  eccentric  and 
uncouth  character,  easily  ridiculed,  even  in 
his  own  days.  He  was  born  in  Boston, 
October  7,  1746,  and  died  there,  September 
29,  1800.  He  was  a  tanner,  and  is  said  to 
have  chalked  down  his  earliest  compositions 
upon  sides  of  leather.  His  musical  educa- 


The  National  Music  of  America.       69 

tion  was  probably  limited  to  the  singing- 
school,  but  this  in  nowise  dismayed  him,  for 
he  believed  (as  Schumann  did  in  his  early 
days)  that  natural  taste  would  guide  the  true 
musician  in  composition,  without  the  necessity 
of  studying  any  rules  ;  indeed,  he  states  this 
fact  in  the  preface  of  his  book,  as  follows  : 

"  To  all  Musical  Practitioners. 

"  Perhaps  it  may  be  expected  by  some,  that  I 
should  say  something  concerning  Rules  for  Composi- 
tion ;  to  these  I  answer  that  Nature  is  the  best 
dictator,  for  all  the  hard  dry  studied  rules  that  ever 
were  prescribed,  will  not  enable  any  person  to  form 
an  Air.  ...  It  must  be  Nature,  Nature  must  lay  the 
foundation,  Nature  must  inspire  the  thought.  .  .  . 
For  my  own  part,  as  I  don't  think  myself  confined  to 
any  rules  of  Composition  laid  down  by  any  that  went 
before  me,  neither  should  I  think  (were  I  to  pretend 
to  lay  down  rules)  that  any  who  come  after  me  were 
any  ways  obligated  to  adhere  to  them,  any  further 
than  they  should  think  proper.  So  in  fact  I  think 
it  is  best  for  every  Composer  to  be  his  own  Carver." 

Governor  Samuel  Adams  and  Doctor  Pierce, 
of  Brookline,  took  great  interest  in  the  en- 
thusiastic choir  singer  and  composer.  The 


70        The  National  Music  of  America. 

latter  said  of  him,  that  when  they  sang  side 
by  side,  he  (Rev.  Dr.  Pierce)  could  not  hear 
his  own  voice,  which  was  no  still,  small  voice, 
either.1 

Billings  was  deformed  in  person,  blind 
in  one  eye,  one  leg  shorter  than  the  other, 
untidy  in  dress  and  person,  and  a  tre- 
mendous snuff-taker,  carrying  his  tobacco 
around  with  him  in  his  coat,  the  pocket  of 
which  was  purposely  made  of  leather.  Many 
loved  to  play  practical  jokes  upon  him,  even 
while  his  music  was  accepted  with  enthu- 
siasm on  every  hand  (possibly  because  it 
always  had  a  spice  of  patriotism  in  it,  a  much 
prized  quality  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution), 
and  we  read  of  some  playful  boys  tying  a 
couple  of  cats  by  the  tails  to  the  sign  over 
his  music  store  in  Boston  ;  one  can  imagine 
his  feelings  at  coming  out  and  finding  the 
caterwauling  animals  suspended  under  the 
proud  legend,  "Billings'  Music." 

1  Gould,  "  History  of  Church  Music  in  America,"  p.  46. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        71 

His  glowing  enthusiasm  for  his  art  was 
probably  unfeigned ;  his  earnest  prefaces 
bear  the  mark  of  sincerity,  and,  judging  by 
the  preface  to  his  next  collection,  published 
eight  years  after  the  one  described  above,  he 
began  to  discard  his  "  Babe  and  Suckling " 
and  "  Natural  composition  "  theories,  for  he 
says  :' 

"...  About  ten  years  ago  I  published  a  book 
entitled  « The  New  England  Psalm-singer '  and  truly 
a  most  masterly  performance  I  then  thought  it  to  be. 
How  lavish  was  I  of  encomium  on  this  my  infant 
production.  .  .  .  But  to  my  great  mortification  .  .  . 
I  have  discovered  that  many  pieces  were  never  worth 
my  printing  or  your  inspection." 

We  have  already  intimated  that  the  patri- 
otic side  of  Billings  was  the  favourite  one  with 
his  public ;  he  was  always  at  fever-heat,  nor 
did  he  consider  it  at  all  unfitting  to  drag  in 
paraphrases  of  the  Scriptures  in  dealing  with 
Revolutionary  topics.2  His  "Lamentation 
over  Boston  "  boldly  appropriated  the  beauti- 

1  Preface  to  the  "  Singing  Master's  Assistant." 

2  Gould,  "  History  of  Church  Music  in  America." 


72         The  National  Music  of  America. 

ful  1 3/th  Psalm  to  weep  over  the  fact  that 
Boston  was  in  British  hands.     He  begins  : 

"  By  the  Rivers  of  Watertown  we  sat  down ;  yea, 
we  wept  when  we  remembered  Boston." 

He  continues  in  the  same  strain  : 
"  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Boston,  — 

Then  let  my  numbers  cease  to  flow, 

Then  be  my  Muse  unkind ; 
Then  let  my  tongue  forget  to  move, 

And  ever  be  confined. 
Let  horrid  jargon  split  the  air, 

And  rive  my  nerves  asunder; 
Let  hateful  Discord  grate  my  ear, 

As  terrible  as  Thunder." 

Poor  Billings,  however,  yielded  to  the 
demon  of  "fugueing"  in  several  of  his  com- 
positions, such  fugueing  as  might  make 
Bach's  bones  rattle.  Indeed,  he  says  : 

"  There  is  more  variety  in  one  piece  of  fugueing 
music  than  twenty  of  plain  song.  For  while  the 
tones  do  most  sweetly  coincide  and  agree,  the  words 
are  seemingly  engaged  in  a  musical  warfare ;  and 
excuse  the  paradox,  if  I  further  add,  that  each  part 
seems  determined,  by  dint  of  harmony  and  strength 


The  National  Music  of  America.        73 

of   accent,  to  drown  his  competitor  in  an  ocean  of 
harmony." 

Holyoke,  one  of  Billings' s  more  cultivated 
successors,  held  a  very  different  opinion  in 
this  matter,  for  he  says  that  this  sort  of 
music  "  produces  a  trifling  effect."1 

"  For  the  parts  falling  in,  one  after  another,  each 
conveying  a  different  idea,  confound  the  sense,  and 
render  the  music  a  mere  jargon  of  words." 

There  need,  however,  be  no  discussion 
about  \hefugues  used  by  the  early  Ameri- 
can composers,  for  they  were  not  fugues  at 
all,  merely  short  passages  of  contrapuntal 
imitation,  generally  defying  counterpoint  in 
a  manner  that  proved  that  freedom  was  a 
fundamental  principle  with  every  musical 
American.  Not  one  of  the  composers  afore- 
said had  the  remotest  idea  of  what  constituted 
a  fugue,  although  they  glibly  explained 
"fugueing"  in  almost  all  of  their  musical 
collections. 

*  Preface  to  "  Harmonia  Americana."    Boston,  1791. 


74         The  National  Mtisic  of  America. 

That  Billings  remained  poor  in  spite  of  his 
popularity,  may  be  proved  by  the  following 
appeal,  following  an  advertisement  of  the 
publication  of  one  of  his  works  by  subscrip- 
tion, (possibly  the  "  Continental  Harmony  "). 
The  notice  is  taken  from  the  Massachusetts 
Magazine  of  August,  1792. 

"Address  to  the  Benevolent  of  every  Denomina- 
tion. The  distressed  situation  of  Mr.  Billings'  family 
has  so  sensibly  operated  on  the  minds  of  the  commit- 
tee as  to  induce  their  assistance  in  the  intended 
publication." 

Billings  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to 
introduce  the  violoncello  in  New  England 
churches,  a  great  step  toward  the  eventual 
introduction  of  the  organ.  He  was  also 
probably  the  earliest  to  introduce  the  pitch- 
pipe  to  "  set  the  tune." 

From  all  the  accounts  of  Billings  we  be- 
lieve him  to  have  been  a  great  music-lover, 
an  enthusiast,  honest  in  his  convictions,  but 
uncouth  in  expression  and  utterly  untrained 


The  National  Music  of  America.        75 

in  the  school  of  music  which  he  undertook 
to  compose,  the  most  dignified  and  difficult 
school  of  any. 

Yet  we  are  not  of  those  who  despise  his 
"woodnotes  wild,"  nor  are  we  disposed  to 
jest  at  his  honest  love  of  an  art  of  which  he 
stood  only  upon  the  threshold.  He  was  the 
right  man  in  the  right  place.  A  good  com- 
poser in  the  higher  forms  would  have  utterly 
failed  to  appeal  to  the  American  public  of 
that  time.  William  Billings  broke  the  ice 
which  was  congealing  New  England's  music, 
and  America  owes  him  a  great  debt  of  grati- 
tude spite  of  his  few  thousand  errors  of 
harmony. 

After  him  there  came  a  long  procession 
of  similar  composers.  Andrew  Law  was  of 
higher  education  and  had  more  practical 
knowledge;  Jacob  Kimball  deserted  legal 
study  for  music,  was  less  original  than  Bil- 
lings, and  died  in  the  poorhouse ;  Samuel 
Holyoke  opposed  the  fugue  tunes ;  Daniel 


76        The  National  Music  of  America. 

Read,  Timothy  Swan,  and  Jacob  French 
also  deserve  mention. 

Oliver  Holden  has  a  little  stronger  claim 
upon  our  attention,  for  he  composed  "  Coro- 
nation," which  serves  to  perpetuate  his  name. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  a  resident  of 
Charlestown,  Mass.  He  left  his  saws  and 
planes  to  become  a  music  teacher.  He 
published  and  edited  five  volumes  of  music. 
He  was  among  the  first  to  use  music  type  in 
Boston.  We  give  a  reproduction  of  "  Coro- 
nation" the  way  it  appeared  in  its  first 
edition,1  which  may  also  serve  to  show  the 
style  of  musical  typography  in  its  earliest 
New  England  stages. 

We  have  now  reached  the  time  when 
music  had  a  local  habitation  and  a  name  in 
Massachusetts  and  throughout  New  England. 
Music  teachers  had  settled  in  Boston.  The 


1  From  the  "  Union  Harmony,  or  Universal  Collection 
of  Sacred  Music :  printed  Typographically,  at  Boston,  by 
Isaiah  Thomas  and  Ebenezer  T.  Andrews,  1793." 


The  National  Music  of  America.        77 


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78        The  National  Music  of  America. 

price  of  a  music  lesson,  as  gleaned  from  the 
old  advertisements,  was  from  half  a  dollar  to 
seventy-five  cents,  the  more  eminent  teach- 
ers contenting  themselves  with  the  latter 
price.  The  teacher  was  generally  obliged  to 
lend  his  piano  to  the  pupil  for  practising  pur- 
poses (many  advertisements  offer  this  advan- 
tage), since  the  instrument  was  a  great  rarity 
at  even  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  in  Boston.  The  pupils  played  pieces 
by  Gyrowetz  and  sometimes  even  attempted 
Haydn,  but  far  more  generally  it  was  "  Wash- 
ington's March  "  or  some  "  Battle-piece  "  ' 
that  struck  wonder  into  the  hearts  of  the 
auditors.  The  change  in  manners  may  be 
thoroughly  shown  by  the  following  quotation 


1  The  "  Battle  of  Prague  "  was  by  no  means  the  earliest 
of  these  warlike  compositions;  the  author  possesses  a 
"  Sonata  pour  le  Clavecin  ou  Forte-piano,  qui  represente 
La  Bataille  de  Rosbach  "  [fought  Nov.  5,  1757,  between 
Frederic  the  Great,  and  the  French]  "  Composees  par  Mr. 
Bach."  Evidently  by  J.  Christian  Bach,  son  of  the  great 
master. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        79 

from  a  letter  written  by  Brissot  de  Warville,1 
from  Boston,  in  1788  : 

"  You  no  longer  meet  here  that  Presbyterian  aus- 
terity which  interdicted  all  pleasures,  even  that  of 
walking,  which  forbade  travelling  on  Sunday,  which 
persecuted  men  whose  opinions  were  different  from 
their  own.  The  Bostonians  unite  simplicity  of  morals 
with  that  French  politeness  and  delicacy  of  manners 
which  render  virtue  more  amiable.  They  are  hos- 
pitable to  strangers  and  obliging  to  friends ;  they  are 
tender  husbands,  fond  and  almost  idolatrous  parents, 
and  kind  masters.  Music,  which  their  teachers  for- 
merly proscribed  as  a  diabolical  art,  begins  to  make 
part  of  their  education.  In  some  houses  you  hear  the 
forte-piano.  This  art  it  is  true  is  still  in  its  infancy ; 
but  the  young  novices  who  exercise  it  are  so  gentle,  so 
complaisant,  and  so  modest,  that  the  proud  perfection 
of  art  gives  no  pleasure  equal  to  what  they  afford." 

1  Jean  Pierre  Brissot,  who  assumed  the  name  "  De 
Warville,"  was  a  celebrated  Girondist.  He  was  born  at 
Chartres,  1754.  He  became  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Paris 
and  wrote  some  important  legal  works.  He  was  also  a 
pamphleteer  and  journalist.  His  coming  to  America  was 
in  the  interests  of  an  abolition  society  which  he  founded 
in  Paris,  called  "  The  Friends  of  the  Blacks."  He  entered 
heart  and  soul  into  the  spirit  of  our  Revolution.  Return- 
ing to  France,  he  was  tried  with  the  Girondists  (see  ac- 
count of  the  "  Marseillaise  "  in  the  next  chapter)  and  died 
on  the  guillotine,  with  bravery  and  dignity,  Oct.  31,  1793. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

European  National  Songs  —  The  Voice  of  Freedom  in  For- 
eign Countries  —  "  Lilliburlero  "  —  Scottish  War-songs 
—  Koerner's  "  Song  of  the  Sword  "  —  The  Music  of  the 
Reign  of  Terror ;  "  Ca  Ira  "  and  "  La  Carmagnole  "  — 
The  "Marseillaise" — The  English  National  Anthem 
and  Its  American  Uses  —  "  My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee." 

ALTHOUGH  this  chapter  may  seem  to  be 
a  digression  from  the  strict  line  of  our  sub- 
ject, since  it  speaks  chiefly  of  foreign  national 
music,  the  student  of  history  will  find  a  kin- 
ship among  the  songs  of  Freedom  in  every 
clime,  and  some  of  the  tunes  cited  will  be 
found  to  have  exerted  a  direct  influence  upon 
American  music.  It  has  been  well  said  — 
"  Happy  are  those  nations  which  have  no 
history,"  for  history  is  too  often  only  the 
record  of  the  strife,  injustice,  and  oppression 
of  mankind.  Out  of  these  evils  beautiful 
music  is  born.  Shelley's  lines, 
80 


The  National  Music  of  America.        81 

"  Most  wretched  men, 
Are  cradled  into  poetry  by  Wrong ; 
They  learn  in  suffering  what  they  teach  in  Song," 

can  be  justly  applied  to  much  national  music. 
Schubert  once  complained  that  the  public 
seemed  to  love  those  songs  best  which  he 
had  written  in  the  greatest  agony ;  the  same 
is  often  true  of  national  music ;  the  groans 
of  the  oppressed  become  a  stirring  art-work, 
and  Music  is  the  child  of  Sorrow,  national  or 
individual. 

It  sometimes  occurs,  also,  that  a  trivial 
song  becomes  the  pivot  upon  which  the 
greatest  events  may  swing.  Probably  the 
most  remarkable  instance  of  this  is  found 
in  the  English  Revolution  of  1688,  when 
"  Lilliburlero "  exerted  an  influence  out  of 
all  proportion  to  its  jovial  music  and  its 
frivolous  words.1 

1  Hosts  of  authors  have  alluded  to  "  Lilliburlero,"  in 
fiction.  Sterne  speaks  of  it  in  "  Tristram  Shandy,"  Thack- 
eray in  "  Henry  Esmond,"  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  in 
"  Treasure  Island,"  etc. 


82        The  National  Music  of  America. 

To  understand  the  full  meaning  of  this 
production  it  is  necessary  to  comprehend 
the  stern  bigotry  of  Richard  Talbot,  whom 
it  satirised.  Talbot  had  been  a  firm  royalist 
during  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth,  and 
had  even  returned  to  England  from  Holland 
(whither  he  had  fled  after  the  defeat  of  the 
king's  forces),  with  the  avowed  determina- 
tion of  avenging  the  decapitation  of  Charles 
I.  by  the  assassination  of  Cromwell.  He  was 
a  man  of  undaunted  courage  and  did  not 
propose  to  strike  in  the  dark;  he  therefore 
wrote  a  pamphlet,  which  he  entitled  "  Killing 
no  Murder,"  and  sent  it  to  the  Protector. 
Cromwell  is  said  never  to  have  smiled  again 
after  reading  the  threatening  essay.  But 
Cromwell's  own  secret  service  was  phenom- 
enally effective,  and  he  had  loyal  friends 
enough  to  prevent  the  murder  being  ac- 
complished. Talbot  therefore  returned  to 
the  Continent,  a  disappointed  man. 

At  the  time  of  the  Restoration  it  was  very 


The  National  Music  of  America.        83 

natural  to  find  Richard  Talbot  in  England 
again,  and  now  on  the  top  wave  of  pros- 
perity. He  was  made  Earl  of  Tyrconnel, 
and  afterward  still  further  promoted  by 
James  II.  Ireland  had  been  in  a  most 
discontented  state  during  the  English  con- 
vulsions. In  1641  a  rebellion  took  place, 
which  was  accompanied  by  more  than  one 
massacre  of  Protestants.  At  one  of  these 
the  rallying  cry  of  the  Irish,  by  which  they 
might  recognise  each  other  in  the  tumult, 
is  said  to  have  been  "  Lilliburlero "  and 
"  Bullen  al-a,"  which  gives  the  only  clue  to 
the  strange  title  of  the  song.  In  1687  Tal- 
bot had  been  lieutenant-general  in  Ireland, 
and  had  distinguished  himself  by  the  arbi- 
trary way  in  which  he  had  treated  the  Prot- 
estants. In  October,  1688,  James  II.  made 
him  his  full  deputy-lieutenant  with  greater 
powers  than  ever  before. 

All  England,  and  the  Protestant  part  of 
Ireland,  was  in  a  ferment  at  the   injustice 


84        The  National  Music  of  America. 

of  the  appointment.  Thomas,  Lord  Whar- 
ton  (1640-1715),  a  prominent  Whig,  took 
the  occasion  to  write  a  set  of  jingly  verses 
about  the  matter,  which  he  entitled  "  Lilli- 
burlero."  He  fitted  his  rhymes  to  a  pretty 
quickstep,  written  by  Henry  Purcell  (the 
greatest  of  English  composers),  in  1678.  It 
is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  effect  of  the 
song.  Bishop  Burnet  says  : 

"  A  foolish  ballad  was  made  at  that  time,  treating 
the  Papists,  and  chiefly  the  Irish,  in  a  very  ridiculous 
manner,  which  had  a  burden,  said  to  be  Irish  words, 
'Lero,  lero,  lilliburlero,'  that  made  an  impression  on 
the  army  that  cannot  be  imagined  by  those  who  saw 
it  not.  The  whole  army,  and  at  last  the  people, 
both  in  city  and  country,  were  singing  it  perpetually. 
And  perhaps  never  had  so  slight  a  thing  so  great  an 
effect." 

Lord  Wharton,  after  the  change  of  dy- 
nasty, made  the  boast  that  he  had  rhymed 
James  out  of  three  kingdoms,  but  he  does 
not  take  account  of  the  fact  that  the  music 
played  a  most  important  part  in  the  popu- 


The  National  Music  of  America.       85 

larity  of  the  song.  In  fact,  in  this  case, 
a  musical  composer  may  be  credited  with 
being  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  a  great 
revolution.  The  words  ran  as  follows  : 

"  Ho !  broder  Teague,1  dost  hear  de  decree  ? 

Lilliburlero,  bullen  a-la. 
Dat  we  shall  have  a  new  deputie, 
Lilliburlero,  bullen  a-la. 

"  Ho !  by  Saint  Tyburn,  it  is  de  Talbote, 
And  he  shall  cut  all  de  Englishmen's  troate. 
(Refrain.) 

"  Dough  by  my  soul  de  English  do  praat 
De  law's  on  dare  side,  and  Creish  knows  what. 
(Refrain.) 

"  But  if  dispence  do  come  from  de  pope, 
We'll  hang  Magna  Charta  and  dem  in  a  rope. 

"  For  de  good  Talbote  is  made  a  lord, 
And  wid  brave  lads  is  coming  aboard. 

"  Who  all  in  France  have  taken  a  sware, 
Dat  dey  will  have  no  Protestant  heir. 

1 "  Brother  Teague "  was  then  the  nickname  of  the 
Irishman  as  "  John  Bull "  is  of  the  Englishman  at  present. 
The  dialect  of  the  song  is  absurdly  un-Irish. 


86        The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  Ara !  but  why  does  he  stay  behind  ? 
Ho !  by  my  soul,  'tis  a  Protestant  wind. 

"  But  see  de  Tyrconnel  is  now  come  ashore 
And  we  shall  have  commissions  galore. 

"  An  he  dat  will  not  go  to  de  Mass 
Shall  be  turn  out,  an  look  like  an  ass. 

"  Now,  now  de  hereticks  all  shall  go  down 
By  Chrish  and  St.  Patrick  de  nation's  our  own. 

"  Dere  was  an  old  prophecy  found  in  a  bog, 
'  Ireland  shall  be  ruled  by  an  ass  and  a  dog.' 

"  And  now  dis  prophecy  is  come  to  pass 
For  Talbote's  de  dog *  and  James  is  de  ass." 

More  trivial  words  were  never  written,  but 
the  pretty  music  sugar-coated  the  pill,  and 
"  Lilliburlero  "  entered  the  list  of  great  revo- 
lutionary songs.  We  append  the  quickstep 
of  Purcell. 

If  James  II.  gave  rise  to  this  historical 
song,  his  son  gave  rise  to  better  music, 
and  his  grandson  to  infinitely  finer  ballads. 

1  A  pun  is  here  intended,  for  a  "  Talbot "  is  a  large 
hunting  hound. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        87 
«  LILLIBURLERO." 


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Hey,Broth-er  Teague,dost  hear  de    decree, 


ler   -  o,    bul  -  len  - 


88        The  National  Music  of  America. 

The  Scottish  Jacobite  songs  illustrate  every 
phase  of  a  hopeless  struggle.  The  weak 
attempt  of  the  man  who  might  have  been 
James  III.  (the  "  Old  Pretender "  or  the 
"  Old  Chevalier  "  —  of  St.  George  —  as  his 
opponents  and  adherents  respectively  called 
him)  to  regain  his  throne,  led  to  the  employ- 
ment of  the  very  ancient  tune,  now  known 
as  "  Scots  wha  hae,"  as  a  war-song,  and  also 
to  "What's  a'  the  Steer,  Kimmer?"  while 
the  music  which  crystallised  around  the  more 
courageous  efforts  of  his  son,  Charles  Ed- 
ward (the  "Young  Pretender,"  the  "Young 
Chevalier,"  or  —  best  of  all,  this  tender  Scot- 
tish diminutive — "Prince  Charlie"),  would 
require  a  full  volume  to  do  it  justice. 

Germany,  too,  had  her  poets  and  musi- 
cians of  liberty,  among  whom  the  young 
Tyrtaeus,  Karl  Theodore  Koerner,  stands 
preeminent.  This  martial  singer  was  born 
at  Dresden,  September  23,  1791,  and  gave 
great  literary  promise  even  in  his  youth.  By 


The  National  Music  of  America.        89 

his  twenty-first  year  he  had  already  received 
the  appointment  of  poet  to  the  court  theatre 
in  Vienna.  In  1813  France  had  come  to 
the  climax  of  her  encroachments  upon  Ger- 
many, and  in  March  of  that  year  the  young 
poet  left  his  position  to  help  defend  his 
fatherland.  He  went  to  Breslau,  and  at 
once  joined  the  Prussian  Free  Corps  then 
forming  under  the  courageous  Liitzow.  So 
famous  was  the  young  recruit  that,  when  the 
corps  was  solemnly  consecrated  in  the  church 
in  the  village  of  Rogau,  the  service  was 
opened  by  the  soldiers  singing  a  lofty  chorale 
to  Koerner's  own  words,  "  Dem  Herrn  allein 
die  Ehre"  He  was  now  sent  with  Peters- 
dorf  on  a  mission  to  Dresden,  to  try  and 
arouse  the  Saxons  to  unite  in  the  common 
cause.  Here  he  saw  his  parents  for  the  last 
time.  Returning  to  the  corps  in  April  he 
was  at  once  made  lieutenant  by  the  vote  of 
his  comrades,  and,  a  little  later,  was  appointed 
Liitzow's  adjutant. 


90        The  National  Music  of  America. 

At  Kitzen,  near  Leipsic,  he  was  severely 
wounded,  through  an  act  of  treachery,  and 
lay  in  the  woods  during  the  night  awaiting 
death.  The  calm  courage  of  the  man  may 
be  proved  by  the  fact  that  he  wrote  his  great 
"  Abschied  vom  Leben  "  —  "  Farewell  to 
Life"  —  during  this  dreadful  night.  He 
finally  escaped  to  Carlsbad,  but  as  soon  as 
he  was  convalescent  returned  to  duty.  He 
was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm ;  his  poems, 
set  to  different  national  tunes,  were  sung 
around  every  camp-fire,  and  he  had  shown 
by  his  courage  that  they  were  not  empty 
words.  His  pen  it  was  that  made  Lutzow's 
troop  terrible  to  the  enemy,  and  gave  an 
esprit  du  corps  to  the  soldiers  that  was  worth 
many  regiments. 

The  corps  was  in  almost  daily  action.  The 
night  before  August  26,  1813,  Koerner 
seems  to  have  had  one  of  those  foreboding 
moods  which  can  often  be  discerned  in  the 
war-songs  which  are  collected  in  his  volume, 


The  National  Music  of  America.        91 

entitled  "  Leyer  und  Schwert"  ("Lyre  and 
Sword ") ;  he  began  the  sketch  of  what 
might  be  called  his  own  death-song,  scrib- 
bling it  in  a  pocket  memorandum-book  which 
he  generally  carried.  The  next  morning  he 
was  reading  the  poem  to  a  brother  officer 
when  the  order  came  to  attack  the  French 
who  were  in  the  highroad  in  much  larger 
force  than  Liitzow's  men.  The  engagement 
took  place  between  Gadebusch  and  Schwerin, 
Koerner  fighting  beside  Liitzow.  The  French 
fled  before  the  impetuous  charge  of  the  Free 
Corps.  While  hotly  pursuing  through  the 
woods,  Koerner  was  shot  down  by  a  fugitive 
tirailleur  who  had  concealed  himself  there. 
The  "  Song  of  the  Sword  "  was  found  on  his 
body ;  the  young  poet-warrior  had  died  on 
the  battle-field  at  twenty-two. 

It  sounds  almost  as  a  prophecy,  the  fiery 
verse  addressed  to  his  weapon,  — 

"  Sword  gleaming  at  my  side, 
Soon  thou  shalt  be  my  bride." 


92        The  National  Music  of  America. 

The  "  Sword-song "  may  be  called  Ger- 
many's chief  song  of  Liberty.  We  attempt 
a  translation : 

SONG   OF   THE   SWORD. 

Sword  at  my  left  side  gleaming 
What  means  thy  friendly  beaming  ? 
Gazest  with  pride  on  me, 
Say  what  can  the  meaning  be  ? 
Hurrah ! 

I  am  a  freeman's  treasure ; 
That  fills  thy  sword  with  pleasure ; 
Where  tyrants  bar  the  way 
There  we  will  join  the  fray. 
Hurrah ! 

Yes,  Freedom  we  will  cherish, 
Or  both  together  perish. 
Sword  gleaming  at  my  side, 
Soon  shalt  thou  be  my  bride. 
Hurrah ! 

When  traitors  would  undo  me 
Be  true  as  steel  unto  me. 
"  Oh  !  bridegroom  do  not  tarry ; 
But  say,  when  shall  we  marry  ?  " 
Hurrah ! 


The  National  Music  of  America.        93 

Mid  roar  and  din  of  battle, 
Mid  crash  and  cannon  rattle, 
There  shall  our  wedding  be, 
Then  will  I  marry  thee. 
Hurrah ! 

"  I'll  wait  with  pulses  bounding, 
To  hear  the  trumpets  sounding, 
Come  thou  to  take  thy  maid 
When  roars  the  cannonade." 
Hurrah! 

Within  thy  scabbard  ringing, 
My  sword,  what  art  thou  singing  ? 
Maiden  of  glittering  steel, 
Quickly  thy  thought  reveal. 
Hurrah ! 

"  I'm  in  the  scabbard  clinking 
Because  of  combat  thinking. 
Bridegroom,  come,  set  me  free, 
I  would  in  battle  be." 
Hurrah  ! 

Though  now  thy  case  enfold  thee 
Right  soon  shall  I  behold  thee, 
Though  now  within  thy  home 
Soon  thou  shalt  to  me  come. 
Hurrah  ! 


94        The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  Let  me  not  wait  here  sadly, 
To  thee  would  I  come  gladly, 
Sighing  blood-rose's  breath, 
Crowned  with  a  wreath  of  Death." 
Hurrah ! 

Then  come,  whate'er  befalls  thee, 
Thy  soldier-bridegroom  calls  thee  ! 
Come  forth,  oh,  bride  adored  ! 
Come  forth,  my  shining  sword  ! 
Hurrah ! 

"  Joy,  to  be  newly  risen, 
Joy,  to  have  left  my  prison ! 
Now  in  the  rider's  hand 
Glitters  and  gleams  the  brand." 
Hurrah  ! 

No  more  the  weapon  hiding, 
For  Germany  we're  riding  ; 
Each  soldier's  heart  aglow, 
Forward  to  meet  the  foe. 
Hurrah! 

No  more  at  left  side  hidden, 
To  my  right  hand  thou'rt  bidden, 
There  shalt  thou  ever  be 
Till  God  grants  Liberty. 
Hurrah ! 


The  National  Music  of  America.        95 

Ne'er  from  my  side  I'll  miss  thee, 
My  iron  bride,  I  kiss  thee. 
Curse  him  who  from  thee  strays ! 
Curse  him  who  thee  betrays ! 
Hurrah ! 


And  now  my  bride  is  singing, 
And  hot  the  sparks  are  springing  I 
The  morn  begins  to  gray, 
This  is  our  wedding-day. 
Hurrah  ! ' 


It  was  the  wedding-day,  and  in  a  few  hours 
after  finishing  this  weird  bridal-song  its 
writer  was  dead. 

Alongside  of  the  songs  of  liberty,  one 
may  place,  for  purposes  of  contrast,  the 
songs  of  license,  the  songs  of  that  pseudo- 
freedom  which  France  evolved  during  the 
Reign  of  Terror,  and,  strange  to  say,  these 
songs  are  more  intimately  connected  with 

1  Not  less  stirring  than  this  song  of  Liberty  and  Death 
is  the  picture  of  the  charge  of  the  troop  in  Koerner's 
"  Liitzow's  Wilde  Jagd."  Both  poems  were  set  to  music 
by  Germany's  greatest  folk-song  composer  —  Von  Weber. 


96        The  National  Music  of  America. 

American  history  than  those  thus  far  cited 
in  this  chapter. 

One  of  the  most  peculiar  features  of  the 
music  of  this  most  dreadful  epoch  of  history 
is  its  utterly  light  and  frivolous  character. 
This  by  no  means  tends  to  make  the  events, 
which  intertwined  with  the  tunes,  less  grue- 
some, but  seems  to  accentuate  their  horror. 
A  tiny  candle  serves  but  to  make  darkness 
more  impressive ;  the  rollicking  songs  intro- 
duced by  Shakespeare  in  "  King  Lear  "  or 
"  Hamlet  "  but  intensify  the  presentation  of 
the  agony  of  the  deserted  monarch,  or  the 
pathos  of  Ophelia's  insanity.  In  the  same 
manner  the  saturnalia  of  murder  is  made 
more  vivid  by  the  fact  that  the  march  played 
while  Marie  Antoinette  was  conducted  to  the 
guillotine  was  a  potpourri  of  the  most  jovial 
opera  tunes.1 

A  similar   bright  streak,  which  contrasts 

1  This  march  was  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Augustus 
Lowell,  of  Boston,  a  few  years  ago. 


The  National  Music  of  America.        97 

with  a  gloomy  background,  is  the  "  £a  Ira." 
It  was  sung  to  many  a  scene  of  massacre 
and  bloodshed ;  it  was  warbled  and  trilled 
out  when  the  mob  carried  the  head  of  the 
beautiful  Princess  de  Lamballe,  on  a  pike, 
through  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  thrust  it 
up  for  the  unhappy  queen  to  look  at.  Yet 
this  melody  was  a  light  vaudeville  tune, 
entirely  innocent  in  its  origin,  and  even 
patriotic  in  its  second  phase.  The  melody 
was  composed  by  a  certain  M.  B^court,  a 
side-drum  player  at  the  Opera.  It  very 
soon  became  popular  as  a  contra-dance,  and 
frequently  appeared  in  the  French  cotillions. 
We  give  a  reproduction  of  this,  as  a  lively 
dance,  from  a  collection  of  cotillions  (in  the 
possession  of  the  author)  of  the  year  1791, 
before  the  melody  had  been  steeped  in 
blood. 

The  title  of  the  work  was  suggested  by 
no  less  a  person  than  Benjamin  Franklin, 
who,  during  his  stay  in  Paris,  continually 


98        The  National  Music  of  America. 


«CA   IRA." 


Pl|^^ 


The  National  Music  of  America.        99 


I: 


P  • • 


ioo      The  National  Music  of  America. 

used  the  phrase  ("  It  will  succeed  ")  in  con- 
nection with  the  prospects  of  the  American 
Revolution.  General  Lafayette  caught  the 
expression  and  suggested  it  to  a  street- 
singer  named  Ladre",  as  a  good  refrain  for 
a  popular  song.  In  its  first  shape  it  pre- 
sented such  innocent  sentiments  as  these : 

"  Ah  !     £a  ira,  ga  ira,  ga  ira  ! 
Le  Peuple  en  ce  jour  sans  cesse  rdpete  : 
Ah  !     (Ja  ira,  ga  ira,  ga  ira  ! 
Malgre  les  mutins,  tout  rdussira." 

But  when  the  mob  burst  forth  in  its  fury, 
when  the  Tuileries  were  carried  by  assault, 
when  the  nobles  were  massacred  in  prison, 
then  the  words  became  more  ferocious  : 

"  Ah  !     £a  ira,  ga  ira,  ga  ira  ! 
Les  Aristocrat'  a  la  lanterne ; 
Ah  !     £a  ira,  ga  ira,  ga  ira  ! 
Les  Aristocrat'  on  les  pendra." 

"La  Carmagnole,"  which  was  yet  more 
prominent  during  the  darkest  days  of 
France's  misery,  was  also  a  light  tune  of 


The  National  Music  of  America.      101 

most  innocent  origin.1  It  originated  in  the 
fair  troubadour  land  of  Provence.  Gre"try, 
the  French  composer,  thought  it  to  be  a 
sailor's  song  of  Marseilles,  but  it  was  more 
probably  a  country  song  combined  with  a 
dance.  It  had  popular  words  attached  to 
its  measures  during  the  early  stages  of  the 
American  Revolution ;  all  the  oppressed 
people  of  France  were  looking  toward  the 
cis-Atlantic  efforts  for  liberty,  and  when 
the  struggle  began,  a  street-singer  took  up 
the  "Carmagnole"  with  a  new  topic,  be- 
ginning : 

"  Bon,  bon,  bon, 

C'est  k  Boston 

Qu'on  entend  le  bruit  du  Canon." 

About  September,  1 792,  there  were  other 
French  topics  sung  to  the  familiar  melody. 
The  real  patriots  of  France  were  now  rush- 
ing forth  to  defend  the  country ;  the  scum 

1  In  Elizabeth  Wormeley  Latimer's  excellent  "  Scrap- 
book  of  the  French  Revolution "  (pp.  177  and  334),  the 
error  is  made  of  presenting  the  "  Carmagnole  "  as  "  C.  a  Ira." 


IO2      The  National  Music  of  America. 

had  not  yet  risen  to  the  top,  and  the  third 
form  of  "La  Carmagnole"  was  a  martial 
one,  probably  written  by  some  soldier  who 
was  ready,  like  Koerner,  to  seal  his  poetry 
with  his  blood. 

"  Le  canon  vient  de  re*sonner ; 
Guerriers  soyez  prets  a  marcher. 
Citoyens  et  soldats, 
En  volant  aux  combats, 
Dansons  la  Carmagnole ; 
Vive  le  son,  vive  le  son, 
Dansons  la  Carmagnole 
Vive  le  son 

Du  Canon." 

This  "  Carmagnole "  was  often  sung  and 
danced  in  New  York  during  the  presidency 
of  Washington,  by  extreme  sympathisers 
with  the  French  Republic.1 

Then  there  came  another  version,  begin- 
ning: 

"  Oui,  je  suis  sans  culotte,  moi, 
En  de"pit  des  amis  du  roi. 
Vive  les  Marseillois, 
Les  Bretons  et  nos  lois !  " 

1  Lossing's  "  Field-book  of  the  War  of  1812,"  p.  81. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      103 

But  this  must  have  existed  at  a  time 
before  the  doctrines  of  the  Marseillaise  dep- 
uties had  become  too  mild  for  such  ghouls 
as  Marat  and  Robespierre. 

The  latest  amplification  of  the  song  was 
directed  against  Marie  Antoinette.  If  the 
French  mob  disliked  Louis  XVI.,  they  hated 
the  so-called  "  Austrian  woman  "  with  fren- 
zied animosity.  It  was  believed  (although 
this  has  since  been  disproved)  that,  while 
the  king  desired  to  help  the  suffering 
people,  the  queen  had  vetoed  every  measure 
of  relief.  Therefore  she  received  the  nick- 
name of  "Madame  Veto."  The  "Carma- 
gnole "  reflected  the  popular  feeling  of  '93 
in  all  its  bitterness.  With  its  new  words 
it  was  sung  and  danced  around  the  guil- 
lotine while  the  terrible  tricoteuses  sat  with 
their  knitting,  counting  the  falling  heads, 
and  the  best  blood  of  France  was  flowing. 
This  was  now  the  form  of  "  La  Carma- 
gnole : " 


IO4      The  National  Music  of  America. 


"LA   CARMAGNOLE." 


-ft-f- 

-V              ,        . 

i*     r 

~f  —  f  — 

f     r    r      L 

Madame    Ve  -  to        a  -  vait  pro  -  mis,   Ma 
Madame    Ve  -  to  swore '/  was  her  will,  Ma 


:'- 


dame    Ve  -  to         a  -    vait    promis,        De 
dame     Ve  -  to    swore  '  /  was  her  will,     That 


faire    6  -  gor  -  ger  tout  Pa- ris,De  faire  6  -  gor  - 
she  would  all  of   Par-is  kill, That  she  would  all 


/r  ' 

J           2 

J 

1  tft\    J  .      i        • 

j 

•           •        • 

.  .        w 

ger    tout    Pa  -  ris  ;  Mais    son  coup    a     man 
of     Par  -  is  kill;  We're  safe  from  all    her 


Z  " 

2           2 

2 

,  _    N.      n 

^S 

™ 

«  •    •<     J 

«^r 
qud,  Grace    a       nos  can  -  non-niers.      Dan  - 

jeers.  Thanks  to      our   can  -  non  -  eers.      Then 

ntt           «-                   '        -      * 

\ji* 

a 

P 

m 

—  M  — 

r           r 

J          i 

J      « 

fa\    < 

•    r    L 

^ 

sons      la    car   -  ma-gnol    -  e,     Vi  -  ve     le 
dance    the    car  -  ma  -  gno  -  le,    Live,  ev  -  er 


The  National  Music  of  America.      105 


son,     vi  -  ve     le  son,    Dansons    la  car  -  ma  - 
more,  Live    e  -  ver-more,  Then  dance  the  car-ma  - 


gnol  -  e,     vi  -  ve    le    son     Du       ca-non ! 
gno  -  le,  Live  ev  -  ermore,the  cannon's  roar  / 

The  "  Carmagnole  "  was  once  danced  and 
sung  even  in  the  National  Convention  itself, 
in  November,  1793.  It  was  when  the  sac- 
rilegious procession  of  sons-culottes  came 
into  the  hall  with  the  spoils  of  the 
churches.  Carlyle  ("French  Revolution," 
Vol.  II.,  Book  7,  Chapter  IV.)  thus  tells  of 
this  event : 

"  In  such  equipage  did  these  profaners  advance 
toward  the  Convention.  They  enter  there,  in  an 
immense  train,  ranged  in  two  rows ;  all  masked  like 
mummers  in  fantastic  sacerdotal  vestments  ;  bearing 
on  hand-barrows  their  heaped  plunder  —  ciboriums, 
suns,  candelabras,  plates  of  gold  and  silver. 

"  The  address  we  do  not  give ;  for  indeed  it  was 
in  strophes,  sung  viva  voce,  with  all  the  parts ;  Dan- 
ton,  glooming  considerably,  in  his  place ;  and  de- 


io6      The  National  Music  of  America. 

manding  that  there  be  prose  and  decency  in  future. 
Nevertheless,  the  captors  of  such  spolia  opima  crave, 
not  untouched  with  liquor,  permission  to  dance  the 
Carmagnole  also  on  the  spot :  whereto  an  exhila- 
rated Convention  cannot  but  accede.  Nay,  '  several 
members,'  continues  the  exaggerative  Mercier,  who 
was  not  there  to  witness,  being  in  Limbo  now,  as 
one  of  Duperret's  seventy-three,  '  several  members, 
quitting  their  curule  chairs,  took  the  hands  of  girls 
flaunting  in  Priests'  vestures,  and  danced  the  Car- 
magnole along  with  them.'  Such  Old-Hallowtide 
have  they,  in  this  year,  once  named  of  Grace, 
I793-" 

To  this  picture  of  sacrilege  may  be  added 
the  scene  which  took  place  in  Notre-Dame, 
in  Paris,  at  the  same  time.  The  Convention 
had  abolished  Religion  and  substituted  an 
Age  of  Reason  in  its  stead.  The  cathedral 
had  been  assigned  to  the  service  of  the  new 
goddess  of  this  cult.  A  well-rouged  goddess 
it  was,  and  fitted  to  represent  liberty  of 
a  certain  kind,  for  Demoiselle  Candeille,  a 
dancer  of  the  opera  troupe,  filled  the  r61e 
at  the  festival.  She  was  installed  on  the 
high  altar  of  the  holy  church. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      107 

"  Beside  her  stood  Laharpe,  the  ex-Academician, 
the  well-known  author  of  the  '  Cours  de  Littdrature.' 
Holding  his  cap  of  liberty,  he  opened  his  address 
by  denying  the  existence  of  a  God ;  and  then,  blas- 
pheming our  divine  Saviour,  he  dared  Him  to  avenge 
the  insult  offered  to  Him  in  His  temple.  As  no 
miracle  took  place  in  answer  to  this  impious  chal- 
lenge, the  crowd  burst  into  loud  laughter  and  shouts 
of  joy.  The  nave  of  the  church  was  then  turned 
into  a  ball-room.  The  celebrated  organist  Sdjan 
was  forced  to  play,  on  the  great  organ,  base  dance- 
music  of  the  period,  while  whirling  wretches  danced 
the  Carmagnole  and  howled  the  air  of  '  £a  Ira.' "  x 

Infinitely  nobler,  more  patriotic,  and  more 
dignified  is  the  "  Marseillaise."  There  are 
some  songs  in  the  world's  history,  which, 
beginning  as  local  numbers,  finally  outgrow 
their  surroundings,  extend  beyond  the  bor- 
ders of  even  the  country  which  bore  them, 
and  eventually  become  the  common  property 
of  all  nations.  "  Auld  Lang  Syne"  was  but 
a  simple  Scottish  folk-melody,  built  on  an 

1  Account  by  the  composer  Adolphe  Adam,  translated 
by  Elizabeth  Wormeley  Latimer  in  Littell^s  Living  Age, 
Aug.  23,  1879. 


io8      The  National  Music  of  America. 

ancient  scale  of  five  notes  only ;  Burns  em- 
bellished the  old  words  with  a  few  earnest 
additions,  and  the  song  belongs  no  longer  to 
Scotland  alone,  but  has  become  the  voice  of 
friendship  and  loyalty  the  whole  world  over. 
In  similar  manner  a  song  composed  for  a 
single  army  corps  has  become  the  universal 
cry  of  liberty  in  patriotic  struggles  every- 
where. 

The  "  Marseillaise  "  was  not,  at  its  incep- 
tion, intended  for  the  Marseilles  patriots. 
It  was  composed  during  that  early  epoch  of 
the  Revolution  when  France  seemed  to  strive 
only  for  the  rights  of  man,  and  appeared  as 
the  foe  of  all  tyrants.  It  was  written  before 
liberty  degenerated  into  license  and  at  the 
time  when  true-hearted  Frenchmen  were 
rushing  forth  to  meet  their  enemies  who 
were  springing  up  on  every  hand.  Rouget 
de  1'Isle  was  in  Strasburg  as  the  army  of 
the  lower  Rhine  was  making  itself  ready  to 
depart  for  the  war.  Moved  by  the  stirring 


The  'National  Music  of  A  merica.      1 09 

events  around  him,  in  one  night,  the  night 
preceding  April  24,  1 792,  he  wrote  both  mu- 
sic and  words  of  the  great  liberty  hymn. 
The  whole  composition  came  as  if  by 
inspiration. 

The  originality  of  the  melody  with  this 
composer,  however,  has  been  doubted.  Castil- 
Blaze  says  that  the  music  comes  from  an  old 
German  hymn  ;  Fetis  gives  an  earlier  French 
origin  to  it ;  a  rather  detailed  account  in  a 
recent  Parisian  volume *  says  : 

"  The  melody  was  composed  by  Alexandra 
Boncher,  the  celebrated  violinist,  in  the  drawing- 
room  of  Madame  de  Mortaigne,  at  the  request  of  a 
colonel  whom  the  musician  had  never  met  before, 
whom  he  never  saw  again.  The  soldier  was  starting 
next  morning  with  his  regiment,  for  Marseilles,  and 
pressed  Boncher  to  write  him  a  march  there  and 
then.  Rouget  de  1'Isle,  an  officer  of  engineers,  hav- 
ing been  imprisoned  in  1791  for  having  refused  to 
take  a  second  oath  to  the  constitution,  heard  the 
march  from  his  cell,  and,  at  the  instance  of  his  jailer, 

1 "  An  Englishman  in  Paris."  The  volume  is  rather 
too  sensational  to  be  trusted,  although  it  gives  many 
details  of  Boucher's  work. 


I  io      The  National  Music  of  America. 

adapted  the  words  of  a  patriotic  hymn  he  was  then 
writing  to  it." 

We  are  disposed  to  doubt  all  of  the  above ; 
there  is  a  tremendous  amount  of  hazy  state- 
ment and  false  history  encrusted  around 
many  national  hymns  (as  will  be  seen  from 
the  ensuing  chapters),  and  every  great  melody 
finds  a  number  of  false  claimants  to  its 
creation. 

Thus  much  has  been  proved,  the  produc- 
tion was  intended  for  the  army  corps  of  the 
lower  Rhine,  and  was  first  called  "  Chant  du 
Guerriers  du  Bas  Rhin."  But  the  warriors 
aforesaid  were  not  greatly  moved  by  the  new 
effusion,  and  for  a  time  it  lay  quiescent. 
These  were  the  days  when  the  patriots  of 
the  Assembly  were  becoming  very  impatient ; 
the  king,  most  woful  shadow  of  a  monarch, 
had  endeavoured  to  run  away  and  had  been 
brought  back  again ;  the  queen  was  entirely 
distrusted ;  the  Gordian  knot  needed  to  be 
cut.  It  was  then  that  Barbaroux,  deputy 


The  National  Music  of  America.      in 

from  Marseilles,  wrote  to  his  city  for  "six 
hundred  men  who  knew  how  to  die."  The 
stirring  appeal  struck  home,  and  almost  im- 
mediately the  men  were  volunteered.  Nor 
were  they  the  dregs  of  Marseilles ;  history 
has  been  strangely  misled  regarding  the 
character  of  these  patriots,  "  qui  savent 
mourir ; "  it  has  been  stated  over  and 
over  again  that  they  were  but  the  off- 
scourings of  a  maritime  city ;  only  in  most 
recent  days  has  an  examination  of  municipal 
records  established  the  fact  that  these  men 
were  respectable  burghers,  honest  workmen, 
worthy  tradespeople. 

There  were,  however,  not  six  hundred,  but 
five  hundred  and  sixteen,  who  started  on 
the  weary  march  northward,  "to  bring  the 
tyrant  to  reason,"  although  Carlyle,  in  his 
great  history,  erroneously  adds  an  extra  man. 
With  three  cannon,  a  portable  forge,  sledge- 
hammers, and  pike,  sword,  and  musket,  this 
strange  procession  began  its  pilgrimage. 


ii2      The  National  Music  of  America. 

There  had  been  a  civic  banquet  given  to 
wish  them  Godspeed.  At  this  banquet  the 
song  composed  for  the  army  of  the  lower 
Rhine  was  sung.  It  met  with  a  different 
reception  from  the  amateur,  from  that 
which  had  been  given  it  by  the  profes- 
sional slaughterers,  and  it  at  once  became 
the  song  of  the  battalion.  Through  half  of 
France  they  sang  it,  therefore  when  they 
arrived  at  Paris,  July  29,  1792,  they  were 
able  to  thunder  it  forth  with  a  fervour  par- 
tially derived  from  long  practice.  The  Paris- 
ians were  aroused  to  frenzy  by  this  song  of 
the  Marseilles  men. 

Less  than  a  fortnight  later  the  melody 
received  its  baptism  of  blood.  August  9th, 
in  the  night-time,  the  tocsin  sounded  for  the 
attack  on  the  Tuileries,  and  on  the  loth 
the  "  Marseillaise "  blended  with  the  dying 
shrieks  of  the  Swiss  Guards. 

The  "  Marseillaise  "  was  heard  again  under 
very  different  circumstances ;  the  evil  days 


The  National  Music  of  America.      113 

were  hurrying  on,  the  scum  was  rising.  In 
a  short  time  the  mob  of  sans-culottes  found 
the  patriotic  hymn  too  conservative  for  their 
fury,  and  the  "  Carmagnole  "  and  "  £a  Ira  " 
became  the  popular  music.  But  the  "  Mar- 
seillaise" still  stood  as  the  chosen  song  of 
the  men  who  loved  Liberty  without  commit- 
ting crimes  in  her  name.  These  men  were, 
however,  proscribed  and  hunted  down,  and 
Oct.  30,  1793,  twenty-two  of  the  Girondins 
(as  the  moderates  were  called)  were  tried  for 
their  "treason,"  among  them  that  Brissot 
de  Warville  who  had  spoken  so  well  of  the 
music  of  Boston. 

Those  were  the  days  of  short  delibera- 
tions ;  the  entire  band  was  quickly  sen- 
tenced to  death.  Valazd  at  once  struck  a 
dagger  into  his  heart  and  fell  dead.1  The 
others,  as  they  were  led  back  to  prison, 
sang  the  "  Marseillaise."  They  were  all  to 

1  His  body  was  beheaded  with  the  Girondins,  the  next 
day. 


1 14      The  National  Music  of  America. 

die  on  the  morrow.  Vergniaud  had  poison 
concealed  on  his  person,  but  a  rapid  calcula- 
tion proved  that  there  was  not  enough  for 
all,  and  he  therefore  threw  it  away.  Poet, 
painter,  and  historian  have  celebrated  that 
wonderful  night  when  the  greatest  minds  in 
France  had  their  final  reunion  before  their 
execution ;  there  was  wit  without  bravado, 
courage  without  braggadocio,  serenity  among 
all. 

The  next  day  they  took  up  their  song  of 
the  "  Marseillaise  "  at  the  guillotine.  Swiftly 
the  instrument  did  its  dreadful  work ;  one 
by  one  the  voices  were  hushed  ;  at  last  there 
was  but  one  firm  voice  singing  the  patriotic 
air,  and  in  an  instant  that,  too,  was  stilled, 
and  the  tragedy  of  the  Girondins  had  come 
to  its  close. 

Barbaroux,  himself,  who  might  be  called 
the  godfather  of  the  "  Marseillaise,"  was  pro- 
scribed, but  managed  to  escape.  He  found 
refuge  in  St.  Emilion.  One  day,  in  1794,  he 


The  National  Music  of  America.      115 

saw  a  crowd  approaching  his  hiding-place ; 
he  drew  a  pistol  and  shot  himself.  It  was 
only  a  crowd  of  harvesters  making  festival, 
the  "  Terror "  was  coming  to  its  end,  and 
Barbaroux  was  safe,  had  he  only  known  it. 

Of  the  composer  of  the  "  Marseillaise  "  it 
must  be  added  that  he  was  by  no  means 
true  to  the  principles  of  his  great  song,  for 
he  afterward  composed  Legitimist,  Royalist, 
and  Imperialist  songs,  but  we  may  easily 
imagine  these  to  have  sprung  from  his  empty 
pocket-book,  rather  than  from  his  heart. 

Of  the  power  of  his  song  there  can  be 
no  manner  of  doubt.  A  certain  left-handed 
compliment  may  serve  to  show  this ;  when 
Rouget  de  1'Isle  was  presented  to  Klopstock, 
the  celebrated  German  writer  turned  from 
him,  exclaiming  :  "  Monster !  your  music  has 
killed  fifty  thousand  Germans ! "  De  1'Isle 
was  again  imprisoned  during  the  Reign  of 
Terror,  but  the  death  of  Robespierre  relieved 
him  from  this  great  peril.  Louis  Philippe 


1 1 6      The  National  Music  of  America. 

granted  him  a  pension  because  of  the 
"  Marseillaise." 

Probably  the  national  song  that  has  been 
put  to  the  most  diverse  uses  by  more  civi- 
lised nations  than  had  ever  before  united 
upon  a  single  tune,  is  "God  Save  the 
Queen."  The  English  national  anthem  has 
become  a  patriotic  song  in  Germany,  used 
since  1793,  under  the  title  of  "  Heil  dir  im 
Siegerkranz ;"  it  has  been  adopted  in  Switzer- 
land, and  it  has  had  many  different  Ameri- 
can and  other  settings.  Before  examining 
these,  let  us  trace,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
origin  of  the  music.  As  is  the  case  with 
many  of  the  greatest  national  anthems,  the 
beginning  of  the  melody  is  ascribed  to  dif- 
ferent sources,  and  the  historians  are  still 
breaking  lances  in  favour  of  different  theories 
regarding  its  origin. 

Briefly  stated,  some  of  the  different  views 
are  the  following : 

ist,  An  old  air,  by  Dr.  John  Bull,  dated 


The  National  Music  of  America.      1 1 7 

1619,  very  much  resembles  the  modern  tune, 
but  it  is  in  a  minor  key. 

2d,  A  Scottish  carol,  in  a  Ravenscroft  col- 
lection, entitled  "  Remember,  O  thou  man," 
bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  tune,  both  in 
its  form  and  progressions,  but  is  also  in  minor. 

3d,  A  ballad  entitled  "  Franklin  Is  Fled 
Away,"  dated  1669,  is  in  the  form,  and  is 
in  major,  but  deviates  from  the  melody. 

4th,  A  harpsichord  piece  by  Henry  Pur- 
cell,  dated  1696,  bears  resemblance  to  the 
last  half  of  the  melody. 

5th,  It  is  claimed,  but  not  proved,  that  the 
tune  and  words  were  written  for  King  James 
II.,  and  that  it  was  sung  by  the  Catholic 
chapel  of  that  king. 

6th,  It  is  claimed  as  a  Jacobite  song, 
written  for  James  III.,  the  "Old  Pretender." 

7th,  It  is  claimed  that  Lully,  the  old 
French  composer,  wrote  the  tune.1 

1  Three  nuns  of  the  convent  of  St.  Cyr,  Chartres,  have 
testified  to  the  existence  of  the  tune  at  that  convent  in 


1 1 8      The  National  Music  of  America. 

We  might  give  several  more  claims  to  the 
work ,  but  we  have  cited  enough  to  show 
how  speedily  pseudo-historical  tales  cluster 
around  national  music.  There  seems,  how- 
ever, scarcely  to  be  a  doubt  that  Henry 
Carey,  the  composer  of  "  Sally  in  our  Alley," 
the  unfortunate  genius  who  committed  sui- 
cide after  a  blameless  life  of  eighty  years, 
who  died  with  a  single  halfpenny  in  his 
pocket,  was  the  author  and  composer  of 
the  great  anthem.  It  was  at  a  tavern  in 
Cornhill,  in  1740,  at  a  meeting  convened 
to  celebrate  the  capture  of  Porto  Bello,  that 
the  song  was  first  heard,  the  singer  being 
Henry  Carey,  who,  after  being  heartily  ap- 
plauded, announced  that  it  was  (both  words 
and  music)  his  own  composition*  There  are 

the  last  century.  An  article  recently  appeared  in  the 
Saturday  Review  of  Mobile,  Ala.,  on  this  subject,  contrib- 
uted by  Prof.  Paul  J.  Robert.  Grove's  "  Dictionary  of 
Music  and  Musicians  "  also  alludes  to  the  Lully  theory ; 
but  it  is  only  another  instance  of  family  resemblance 
among  popular  melodies. 

'See  Gentleman's  Magazine,    1796;   ChappelPs   "Na- 


HENRY  CAREY 


The  National  Music  of  America.      1 19 

many  witnesses  to  this  fact,  and  the  idea 
that  Carey  could  have  purloined  so  strik- 
ing a  melody  without  being  detected  may 
be  dismissed  as  absurd.  The  resemblances 
alluded  to  above  are  undoubtedly  existent, 
but  they  prove  nothing.  Any  great  national 
song,  intended  to  be  performed  by  great 
masses  of  singers,  often  untrained,  must  be 
of  simple  construction  ; *  and  "  God  Save 
Great  George,  our  King  "  was  almost  entirely 
in  conjunct  movement,  scarcely  any  skips 
occurring  in  the  melody.  Its  entire  com- 
pass is  less  than  an  octave,  a  very  great 
merit.  Such  a  tune,  however,  will  always 
bear  a  family  resemblance  to  many  others. 
The  chief  theme  of  the  finale  of  Beethoven's 
ninth  symphony,  for  example,  is  as  close  to 

tional  English  Airs,"  p.  86 ;  Cummings's  articles  in  the 
Musical  Times,  March  to  August,  1878 ;  and  the  essay 
in  the  first  volume  of  Chrysander's  "  Jahrbucher." 

1  That  the  "  Star-spangled  Banner  "  and  "  Hail  Colum- 
bia "  are  not  so,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  not 
originally  national  or  patriotic  songs. 


1 20      The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  Yankee  Doodle"  as  any  of  the  before-cited 
tunes  are  to  "  God  Save  the  King,"  yet 
nobody  has  yet  accused  the  great  symphonist 
of  stealing  the  American  melody.  It  is 
finical  folly  to  dwell  upon  such  resem- 
blances as  having  any  historical  impor- 
tance. 

The  singable  character  of  the  English 
national  anthem  was  at  once  proved  by  two 
events.  Firstly,  the  whole  nation  began  sing- 
ing it  and  paid  to  the  anthem  a  respect  equal 
to  that  accorded  to  the  English  flag.  Haydn, 
during  his  two  visits  to  London  (1791  and 
1794-95),  was  so  impressed  by  this  fact  that 
he  determined  to  write  an  anthem  for  his  own 
country  on  his  return  to  Austria,  and,  in 
January,  1797,  together  with  the  poet 
Hauschka,  he  produced  "  Gott  erhalte  Franz 
den  Kaiser,"  a  weaker  dynastic  ode,  but  also 
only  a  version  of  England's  national  anthem 
strained  through  a  German  mind.  It  may  be 
added,  however,  that  this  is  the  only  example 


The  National  Music  of  A  merica.      121 

of  a  national  hymn  being  composed  with  a 
predetermination  to  that  effect. 

The  second  circumstance  which  proved  the 
suitability  of  the  English  melody  to  its  purpose 
was  the  fact  that  it  was  very  soon  appropriated 
right  and  left  in  various  countries  and  by  dif- 
ferent composers.  Weber  and  Beethoven  used 
it,  both  more  than  once ;  it  became  a  Danish 
national  air,  then  Prussia  appropriated  it,  and 
before  this,  America,  even  while  fighting  with 
the  mother  country,  was  not  averse  to  using  the 
English  national  anthem  as  an  American  song. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  "  My  Country, 
'tis  of  Thee"  was  the  only  employment  of 
the  old  melody  by  Americans.  Such  is  not, 
however,  the  case.  Almost  immediately 
after  the  Revolution,  the  music  of  "God  Save 
the  King"  was  heard  to  the  poetry  of  local 
patriotism.  Among  the  earliest '  settings 
was  the  following: 

1  There  was  also  a  set  of  patriotic  verses  to  the  tune, 
published  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  at  Philadelphia  in 
1779- 


122      The  National  Music  of  A  merica. 

"ODE  FOR  THE   FOURTH   OF  JULY. 

"  Come  all  ye  sons  of  Song, 
Pour  the  full  sound  along 

In  joyful  strains. 
Beneath  these  western  skies 
See  a  new  Empire  rise, 
Bursting  with  glad  surprise 

Tyrannic  chains. 

"  Liberty  with  keen  eye, 
Pierced  the  blue  vaulted  sky, 

Resolved  us  free. 
From  her  imperial  seat, 
Beheld  the  bleeding  state, 
Approved  this  day's  debate 

And  firm  decree." 

After  other  verses  in  this  bombastic  style, 
the  final  stanza  is  reached  in  the  following 
burst  : 

"  Now  all  ye  sons  of  Song, 
Pour  the  full  sound  along, 

Who  shall  control ; 
For  in  this  western  clime, 
Freedom  shall  rise  sublime, 
Till  ever-changing  time, 
Shall  cease  to  roll." 


The  National  Music  of  America.      123 

Nor  was  this  the  only  employment  of  the 
singable  theme.  The  love  of  high-sounding 
metaphor  and  hyperbole,  which  ruled  the 
lesser  poets  of  the  post-revolutionary  epoch, 
can  be  best  shown  by  quoting  the  most 
striking  parts  of  a  poem,  (now  in  posses- 
sion of  the  author)  evolved,  to  the  English 
music,  in  1786  or  1787 : 

"  An  ode,  written  by  Thomas  Dawes,  jun.  esquire, 
and  sung  at  the  entertainment  given  on  Bunker's 
Hill,  by  the  proprietors  of  Charles  River  Bridge,  at 
the  opening  of  the  same. 

"  Now  let  rich  music  sound, 
And  all  the  region  round, 

With  rapture  fill ; 
Let  the  shrill  trumpet's  fame, 
To  heaven  itself  proclaim, 
The  ever-lasting  name 
Of  Bunker's  Hill. 

"  Beneath  his  sky-rapt  brow, 
What  heroes  sleep  below, 

How  dear  to  Jove. 
Not  more  beloved  were  those, 
Who  soiled  celestial  foes, 
When  the  old  giants  rose 
To  arms  above. 


124      The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  Now  scarce  eleven  short  years, 
Have  rolled  their  rapid  spheres, 

Thro'  heaven's  high  road, 
Since  o'er  yon  swelling  tide, 
Passed  all  the  British  pride, 
And  watered  Bunker's  side 

With  foreign  blood. 


"  Then  Charlestown's  gilded  spires, 
Met  unrelenting  fires, 

And  sunk  in  night : 
But  Phenix  like  they'll  rise, 
In  columns  to  the  skies, 
And  strike  the  astonished  eyes 

With  glories  bright. 


"  Meandering  to  the  deep 
Majestic  Charles  shall  weep 

Of  war  no  more ; 
Famed  as  the  Appian  way, 
The  world's  first  bridge  to-day, 
All  nations  shall  convey, 

From  shore  to  shore." 

One  is  a  little  astounded  at  the  poetic 
license  of  the  writer;  the  "sky-rapt  brow" 
of  the  hill  is  not  higher  than  some  of  the 


The  National  Music  of  America.      125 

spires  in  the  town,  the  Appian  way  still  re- 
mains the  more  famous  of  the  two  structures, 
and  even  now  the  bridge  from  Boston  to 
Charlestown  is  not  conveying  "  all  nations  " 
from  "shore  to  shore,"  nor  does  Charles- 
town  "  (sometimes  irreverently  called  "  Pig- 
town  "  by  unregenerate  youth)  yet  rise  "  in 
columns  to  the  skies,  and  strike  the  aston- 
ished eyes  with  glories  bright." 

With  the  American  of  the  present,  how- 
ever, the  chief  employment  of  the  English 
national  hymn  is  found  in  the  singing  of 
"  My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee,"  which  has 
received  the  name  of  "  America."  This 
popular  setting  of  the  old  English  melody  is 
due  to  a  Baptist  clergyman,  Rev.  Samuel  F. 
Smith,  who  was  born  in  Boston,  Oct.  21, 
1808.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  very  facile  writer, 
editor  of  numerous  religious  publications, 
professor  at  the  Waterville  (Maine)  College, 

1  Charlestown  is  now  incorporated  with  the  city  of 
Boston. 


126      The  National  Music  of  America. 

now  known  as  Colby  College,  which  con- 
ferred the  degree  of  "  D.  D."  upon  him  ;  but 
it  is  by  his  patriotic  poem  that  he  is  known 
throughout  the  country.  This  effusion  was 
written  while  Mr.  Smith  was  a  theological 
student  at  Andover,  in  1832.  It  was  first 
sung  at  a  children's  celebration  in  Park 
Street  Church,  in  Boston,  July  4,  1832.  It 
immediately  became  popular.  Oliver  Wen- 
dell Holmes  was  a  classmate  of  Doctor  Smith 
at  Harvard,  in  the  famous  class  of  1829,  and 
at  a  reunion  of  the  graduates,  long  after, 
summed  up  the  clergyman's  title  to  fame, 

very  neatly,  as  follows  : 

• 

"  And  there's  a  nice  youngster  of  excellent  pith, 
Fate  tried  to  conceal  him  by  naming  him  Smith  ! 
But  he  chanted  a  song  for  the  brave  and  the  free, 
Just  read  on  his  medal  — '  My  Country  of  Thee.' " 


CHAPTER   V. 

"  Yankee  Doodle  "  —  Doubtful  Etymology  of  the  Words  — 
Difficulty  in  Tracing  the  Origin  of  the  Melody  —  Deri- 
sive Use  of  the  Tune  during  the  Revolution  —  Began 
and  Ended  the  Revolution  —  First  Appearance  as  a 
National  Tune  in  Europe. 

"YANKEE  DOODLE"  is  shrouded  in  mys- 
tery ;  glib  derivations  of  its  tune  are  given 
on  every  hand,  but  when  sifted  many  of  these 
statements  are  found  to  belong  to  the  realm 
of  guesswork  or  tradition,  rather  than  of 
history.  The  haziness  of  the  entire  sub- 
ject begins,  at  the  very  threshold,  with  its 
title. 

The  word  "  Yankee  "  has  been  a  bone  of 
contention  for  generations  among  etymolo- 
gists. Among  the  investigators  of  this  topic 
none  has  devoted  himself  more  assiduously  to 
127 


128      The  National  Music  of  A  merica. 

tracing  the  various  tales  to  their  source 
than  Mr.  Albert  Matthews,  of  Boston,  who 
we  trust  will  some  day  write  a  monograph 
upon  the  subject,  and  who  has  aided  the 
author  greatly  in  compiling  the  following 
data. 

The  word  "  Yankee  "  seems  almost  always 
to  have  been  applied  to  New  Englanders,  and 
was  generally  a  term  of  mild  sarcasm  ;  yet 
one  authority  makes  the  word  to  be  an  adjec- 
tive expressing  excellence.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  thus  used  by  "Yankee  Hastings,"  of 
Cambridge,  in  1713,  he  employing  the  ex- 
pressions, "A  Yankee  horse,"  "A  Yankee 
team,"  as  superlatives. 

Probably  the  most  generally  accepted 
origin  of  the  word  is  that  the  Indians  applied 
it  to  the  white  settlers  in  New  England,  in  a 
vain  effort  to  say  "  Anglois  "  or  "  English." 
This  theory  derives  some  inferential  support 
from  the  fact  that  the  Indians  had  much 
difficulty  in  pronouncing  the  letter  "  L." 


The  National  Music  of  America.      129 

Governor  Edward  Winslow,  in  his  book 
entitled  "Good  News  from  New  England" 
(London,  1624),  states  that  the  Indians  were 
always  obliged  to  call  him  "Winsnow," 
through  their  inability  to  pronounce  the 
aforesaid  letter. 

Another  authority  states  that  "Eankke" 
in  one  of  the  Indian  dialects  means  a 
coward,  and  that  the  New  Englanders 
were  thus  called  by  the  Virginians  because 
they  refused  to  assist  them  against  the 
Cherokees. 

One  authority,  whose  imagination  would 
certainly  give  him  good  rank  among  some  of 
the  Shakesperian  commentators,  suggests 
that  the  word  might  be  a  corruption  of 
"  Yorkshire." 

Another  states  that  the  English,  having 
conquered  a  tribe  of  Indians  called  the 
"  Yankoos,"  received  the  name  of  that  tribe, 
"  according  to  Indian  custom."  As  no  tribe 
of  that  name  has  yet  been  discovered,  and 


130      The  National  Music  of  America. 

as  the  "  custom  "  itself  has  not  been  verified, 
this  may  be  regarded  as  a  very  far-fetched 
theory. 

Another  commentator  suggests  that  the 
name  came  from  the  Dutch  settlers,  who 
called  the  New  Englanders  "Jannekin" 
("Johnnie"),  in  patronising  sarcasm.  This 
is  at  least  a  possible  solution. 

The  whole  term,  "Yankee  Doodle,"  has 
also  been  derived  from  the  Persian  "  Yanghi 
Dunia  "  or  the  Turkish  "  Yankee  Dooniah," 
applied  to  this  country  and  its  inhabitants, 
but  we  imagine  that  investigation  will  prove 
that  the  derivation  should  be  traced  in  the 
opposite  direction.  George  Kennan,  the  cele- 
brated traveller,  once  stated  to  the  author 
that,  on  his  second  trip  through  the  Cau- 
casus, he  found  the  natives  to  have  taken  up 
many  of  his  American  songs,  which  he  had 
sung  to  them  with  banjo  accompaniment,  and 
orientalised  them.  Some  day  the  commen- 
tators will  find  these  songs  and  prove  some 


The  National  Music  of  A  merica.      131 

of  our  music  of  Asiatic  origin,  exactly  as 
the  above-mentioned  commentators  derive 
"  Yankee  Doodle  "  from  an  Asiatic  "  Yanghi 
Dunia." 

The  word  "  Yankee  "  is  also  derived  from 
the  Norwegian  and  other  languages. 

"Doodle"  has  been  traced  to  the  Lan- 
cashire dialect,  as  meaning  a  trifler,  a  shift- 
less fellow ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  it  is  thus  used  in  the  American  song. 
Apart  from  the  application  of  the  nickname 
to  "Yankee  Hastings,"  mentioned  above, 
the  word  "  Yankee  "  first  definitely  appears 
as  a  negro  name,  in  1725. 

Thus  much  of  the  etymology ;  in  tracing 
the  origin  of  the  tune  of  the  song,  one  is  met 
with  fully  as  many  theories  and  an  over- 
whelming amount  of  unproved  and  guess- 
work history.  Here  are  a  few  of  the  theories  : 
"  Yankee  Doodle "  is  said  to  have  been  a 
derisive  song  against  Oliver  Cromwell,  be- 
ginning, "Nankie  Doodle  came  to  town." 


132      The  National  Music  of  America. 

This  has  not  been  traced  in  the  slightest 
degree ;  the  whole  story  is  apocryphal. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  melody  was  first 
used  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.  to  the  words, 

"  Lucy  Locket  lost  her  pocket, 

Kitty  Fisher  found  it, 
Not  a  bit  of  money  in  it, 
Only  binding  round  it." 

It  is  true  that  this  nursery  rhyme  fits  well 
to  the  melody,  but  Lucy  Locket  is  evidently 
a  name  taken  from  the  "Beggar's  Opera," 
written  in  1/27,  and  Kitty  Fischer  (as  the 
name  was  spelled)  died  in  1771,  which  re- 
moves the  matter  a  half  century  and  more 
beyond  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 

Thirdly,  it  has  been  stated  that  the  tune 
is  sung  in  Holland,  generally  by  the  har- 
vesters, and  that  it  might  have  come  thence. 
Spite  of  the  ridicule  that  has  been  thrown 
upon  this  theory,  we  can  state  that  part  of 
the  tune  is  well  known  in  the  Netherlands, 
although,  as  yet,  its  antiquity  is  not  ascer- 


The  National  Music  of  America.      133 

tained.  This  simple  fact  has  been  overlaid 
by  considerable  nonsense.  One  investi- 
gator, ( ? ) '  for  example,  gives  the  following1 
words  as  the  regular  Dutch  version  of  the 
song: 

"  Yanker  didel,  doodel,  down  ; 

Didel,  dudel,  lanter, 

Yanke  viver,  voover  vown 

Botermilk  and  tather." 

Which  is  consummate  gibberish  and  be- 
longs to  no  known  language.  It  is  probable 
that  the  silly  lines  were  invented  out  of  the 
whole  cloth,  as  an  appendix  to  the  fact  that 
the  Dutch  possess  the  melody. 

Just  as  this  volume  is  going  to  press  the 
author  is  enabled,  through  the  kindness  of 
M.  Jules  Koopman,  travelling  in  Holland,  to 
trace  this  theory  of  Dutch  origin  more 
definitely.  The  first  period  of  the  melody 
is  quite  familiar  to  Dutch  musicians,  and  has 
been  used  in  Holland  from  time  immemorial 

1  LittelFs  Living  Age,  August,  1861. 


1 34      The  National  Music  of  America. 

as  a  children's  song ;  the  second  period  is 
not  known  in  Holland.  There  is  a  possi- 
bility, therefore,  that  the  English  country 
dance  (quoted  a  little  later  on)  was  elabo- 
rated from  a  Dutch  nursery-song,  or  it  may 
be  another  of  the  accidental  resemblances 
with  which  music  is  so  copiously  strewn. 

There  are  also  the  usual  "  resemblance " 
theories,  which  would  give  the  tune  a  Span- 
ish and  even  a  Hungarian  origin.  The  fol- 
lowing note  is  from  a  secretary  of  legation, 
at  Madrid  : ' 

"  The  tune  '  Yankee  Doodle,'  from  the  first  of  my 
showing  it  here,  has  been  acknowledged  by  persons 
acquainted  with  music  to  bear  a  strong  resemblance 
to  the  popular  airs  of  Biscay ;  and  yesterday,  a  pro- 
fessor from  the  north  recognised  it  as  being  much 
like  the  ancient  sword  dance  played  on  solemn  occa- 
sions by  the  people  of  San  Sebastian.  He  says  the 
tune  varies  in  those  provinces,  and  proposes  in  a 
couple  of  months  to  give  me  the  changes  as  they  are 
to  be  found  in  their  different  towns,  that  the  matter 
may  be  judged  of  and  fairly  understood.  Our  national 

1  Quoted  by  Nason,  "  Our  National  Song,"  p.  20. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      135 

air  certainly  has  its  origin  in  the  music  of  the  free 
Pyrenees;  the  first  strains  are  identically  those  of 
the  heroic  "  Danza  Esparta,"  as  it  was  played  to  me, 
of  brave  old  Biscay. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  BUCKINGHAM  SMITH. 
"  Madrid,  June  3,  1838." 

But  there  is  no  record  of  the  further  in- 
vestigation promised  above  ever  having  been 
made. 

It  is  stated  that  Louis  Kossuth,  when  in 
this  country,  recognised  the  melody  as  re- 
sembling one  of  the  tunes  of  his  fatherland. 

And  now  to  leave  the  realm  of  supposi- 
tion, and  study  what  is  definitely  discovered 
regarding  this  merry  theme.  There  are  few 
early  printed  editions  of  the  melody ;  it  oc- 
curs in  George  Colman's  opera  (printed  in 
1784),  entitled  "Two  to  One."  The  music 
of  this  was  selected  and  arranged,  although 
the  title-page  says  "composed,"  by  Doctor 
Arnold.  In  this  work  is  a  song  entitled 
"Adzooks,  Old  Crusty,  Why  so  Rusty?" 


136      The  National  Music  of  America. 


which  is  the  tune  of  "  Yankee  Doodle." 
W.  Barclay  Squire,  in  an  article  in  Grove's 
"  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians,"  thinks 
this  to  be  the  earliest  appearance  of  the  tune 
in  print,  but  Frank  Kidson,  in  his  "Old 
English  Country  Dances  "  (p.  34),  says : 

"  I  believe  the  set  I  now  give  is,  at  least,  eight  or 
nine  years  previous.  It  is  from  '  A  Selection  of 
Scotch,  English,  Irish,  and  Foreign  Airs  —  Glasgow, 
James  Aird,  Vol.  I.'  Oblong  i6mo.  It  is  unfortu- 
nately not  dated,  but  I  cannot  find  any  air  in  it  which 
gives  a  later  date  than  1775  or  1776,  and  I  fix  its 
publication  at  about  that  period." 

We  append  the  version  which  Mr.  Kidson 
presents. 

"YANKY   DOODLE." 


The  National  Music  of  America.      137 

Of  course  it  is  definitely  known  that  the 
air  was  freely  used  both  by  English  and 
Americans  long  before  these  printed  ver- 
sions. Yet  when  one  endeavours  to  ascer- 
tain the  beginnings  of  the  tune  in  America 
the  mists  of  fiction  immediately  arise. 

The  following  is  an  example  of  the 
bold  way  in  which  history  (?)  is  sometimes 
made  ;  the  extract  is  from  Farmer  &  Moore  s 
Monthly  Literary  Journal : 

"  In  looking  over  an  old  file  of  the  Albany  States- 
man x  we  met  the  following  interesting  note  respect- 
ing the  origin  of  the  tune  '  Yankee  Doodle,'  the  words 
of  which  were  published  in  the  collection  for  May. 
It  is  a  fact  that  the  British  army  lay  encamped  in  the 
summer  of  1755,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Hudson, 
a  little  south  of  the  city  of  Albany.  To  this  day 
vestiges  of  their  encampment  remain,  and,  after  a 
lapse  of  sixty  years,  the  inquisitive  traveller  can 
observe  the  remains  of  the  ashes,  the  places  where 
they  boiled  their  camp  kettles,  etc.  In  the  early  part 
of  June  the  eastern  troops  began  to  pour  in,  company 

1  This  in  itself  is  an  error,  since  no  such  paper  existed 
at  that  time.  The  Albany  Register  or  the  New  York 
Statesman  is  probably  meant. 


138       The  National  Music  of  America. 

after  company,  and  such  a  motley  assemblage  of  men 
never  before  thronged  together  on  such  an  occasion. 
It  would,  said  my  worthy  ancestor,  who  relates  to  me 
the  story,  have  relaxed  the  gravity  of  an  anchorite  to 
have  seen  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans  making 
through  the  streets  of  our  ancient  city  to  take  their 
station  on  the  left  of  the  British  army,  some  with 
long  coats.  Their  march,  their  accoutrements,  and 
the  whole  arrangement  of  their  troops  furnished  mat- 
ter of  amusement  to  the  wits  of  the  British  army. 
Among  the  club  of  wits  that  belonged  to  the  British 
army  there  was  a  physician  attached  to  the  staff,  by 
the  name  of  Doctor  Shackburg,  who  combined  with 
the  science  of  the  surgeon  the  skill  and  talents  of  a 
musician.  To  please  Brother  Jonathan  he  composed 
a  tune,  and,  with  much  gravity,  recommended  it  to 
the  officers  as  one  of  the  most  celebrated  airs  of 
martial  musick.  The  joke  took,  to  the  no  small 
amusement  of  the  British  Corps.  Brother  Jonathan 
exclaimed  that  it  was  '  'nation  fine,'  and  in  a  few 
days  nothing  was  heard  in  the  provincial  camp  but 
'  Yankee  Doodle  ! '  " 

Thus  the  first  claim  for  Doctor  Shuck- 
burgh  is  made  on  uncorroborated  testimony, 
about  sixty  years  after  the  event. 

Faulty  as  the  above  account  is,  one  may 
find  grains  of  truth  here  and  there.  It  is 


The  National  Music  of  America,      139 

probable  (since  many  traditions  agree  on  this) 
that  the  witty  doctor  arranged  a  melody  or 
song,  either  for,  or  about,  the  uncouth  troops 
that  were  coming  into  Albany.  Many  of 
the  accounts  attach  him  to  General  Aber- 
crombie's  staff,  but  this  could  not  be  if  the 
tune  or  the  adaptation  was  made  in  1755.' 
It  is  probable  that  the  surgeon  was  with 
General  Amherst  when  the  New  England 
troops  under  Gov.  William  Shirley  came  in. 
The  probability  is  that  he  took  an  old  Eng- 
lish tune  (it  bears  every  internal  evidence 
of  having  been  a  country  dance)  and  set 
it  as  a  satirical  song.  The  name  of  the 
doctor  is  given  in  a  half  dozen  different 
ways.  "  Schuckburgh  "  (Grove's  Dictionary), 
"  Shackburg  "  (vide  account  above),  "  Shack- 
bergh  "  (in  letter  following),  "  Shackleford," 
"  Shukberg,"  and  other  variants  occur.  The 
proper  spelling  is  "  Shuckburgh,"  for  he 

1  General  Abercrombie  came  to   this  country  in  the 
spring  of  1756. 


140      The  National  Music  of  America. 

wrote  it  thus  himself,  and  his  friend,  Sir 
William  Johnson,  always  wrote  it  the  same. 
A  New  York  paper  (the  New  York  Gazetteer) 
of  Aug.  26,  1773,  contains  the  following: 

"  Died,  at  Schenectady,  last  Monday,  Dr.  Richard 
Shuckburgh,  a  gentleman  of  a  very  genteel  family, 
and  of  infinite  jest  and  humour." 

A  granddaughter  of  Gen.  Robert  Van 
Rensselaer  writes  thus  regarding  the  story 
of  "Yankee  Doodle,"  to  Albert  Matthews, 
Esq.,  of  Boston  : 

"  The  story  of  '  Yankee  Doodle '  is  an  authentic 
tradition  in  my  family.  My  grandfather,  Brig.-Gen. 
Robert  Van  Rensselaer,  born  in  the  Greenbush 
Manor  House,  was  a  boy  of  seventeen  at  the  time 
when  Doctor  Shackbergh,  the  writer  of  the  verses, 
and  General  Abercrombie  were  guests  of  his  father, 
Col.  Johannes  Van  Rensselaer,  in  June,  1758.  The 
room  which  Doctor  Shackbergh  occupied  was  always 
pointed  out  to  the  children  of  the  family,  who  felt  a 
certain  kind  of  proprietorship  in  the  famous  '  Yankee 
Doodle.'  The  school  children  in  Albany  know  the 
old  house  and  its  story ;  teachers  have  long  been 
in  the  habit  of  making  it  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for 
their  classes.  There  is  no  room  for  doubt  in  my 


The  National  Music  of  America.      141 

mind  that  Doctor  Shackbergh  wrote  the  lines  attrib- 
uted to  him.  And  the  place  and  date  have  long 
been  so  fixed  a  fact  in  my  family  that  I  am  equally 
convinced  of  the  accuracy  of  the  report  of  the  last 
two  generations.  All  that  we  claim  for  Fort  Crailo 
is  that  it  was  the  birthplace  of  the  original  composi- 
tion. There  was  a  verse  in  a  harvest-song  used  in 
Holland,  sung,  it  is  said,  to  this  tune,  several  hundred 
years  ago  [  !  ]  where  the  words  '  Yanker,  didel,  dudel ' 
[so  this  lady  was  also  caught  by  the  weak  newspaper 
rigmarole]  may  have  given  the  text  for  later  expan- 
sion." 

After  alluding  to  the  supposed  fact  that 
the  melody  was  used  as  a  satire  against 
Cromwell,  the  lady  continues  her  interesting, 
but  by  no  means  convincing  letter  : 

"  We  have  a  picture  of  the  old  house  as  it  was 
before  the  Revolution,  and  in  the  rear  is  the  old  well, 
with  the  high  stone  curb  and  well-sweep  which  has 
always  been  associated  with  the  lines  written  while 
the  British  surgeon  sat  upon  the  curb.  We  hope  to 
restore  the  curb  as  it  was." 

Almost  every  investigation  into  the  early 
American  stages  of  "Yankee  Doodle"  leads 
us  to  similar  reports  of  traditions.  Yet  where 
these  traditions  corroborate  each  other  it  may 


142      The  National  Music  of  America. 

not  be  too  trusting  to  pin  one's  faith  upon 
some  original  occurrence  as  above  described. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  Doctor  Shuck- 
burgh  did  write  a  satirical  poem  to  a  dance- 
tune  with  which  he  was  familiar,  and  that 
the  result  was  "Yankee  Doodle."  It  has 
been  often  stated  that  the  lines  written 
against  Cromwell  (which  are  probably  en- 
tirely fictitious  as  connected  with  the  Pro- 
tector) ran  thus : 

"  Nankie  Doodle  came  to  town 

On  a  little  pony, 
Stuck  a  feather  in  his  cap 
And  called  him  Macaroni." 

It  is,  however,  more  likely  that  Doctor 
Shuckburgh  wrote  words  like  these,  for  the 
word  "Macaroni"  at  about  this  time  (1755) 
meant  something  like  the  "  Dude  "  of  to-day, 
and  the  whole  stanza  (altering  the  first  word 
to  "Yankee")  would  suit  admirably  to  satir- 
ise the  New  England  regiments  which 
aroused  the  wit's  risibility. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      143 

Again,  it  may  be  accepted  that  the  song 
was  against  the  Americans  at  first,  and  this 
point  we  shall  now  emphasise  by  citing  many 
of  its  uses.  At  first  we  find  it  only  among 
the  English.  Here  is  the  earliest  notice  of 
its  performance : 

"  The  British  fleet  was  bro't  to  anchor  near  Castle 
William,  in  Boston  Harbor,  and  the  opinion  of  the 
visitors  to  the  ships  was  that  the  '  Yankey  Doodle 
Song'  was  the  capital  piece  in  the  band  of  their 
musicians."  — New  York  Journal,  Oct.  13,  1768. 

The  same  band  that  played  the  "  Yankey 
Doodle  Song"  at  this  time,  also  gave  the 
Bostonians  better  music,  but  "  Yankee 
Doodle "  seems  to  have  taken  root  imme- 
diately, and  was  often  played  in  the  streets 
of  Boston  thereafter.  It  began  and  ended 
the  American  Revolution,  as  we  shall  pres- 
ently see. 

Undoubtedly  the  word  "  Yankee "  was 
now  used  as  opprobrium ;  in  the  evidence 
regarding  the  Boston  massacre,  we  find  that 


144      The  National  Music  of  America. 

the  British  commanding  officer  shouted  the 
word  at  the  mob  with  other  contemptuous 
expressions. 

Unfortunately,  the  tune  of  "Yankee 
Doodle"  cannot  be  traced  in  its  perform- 
ances between  1755  and  1768,  and  even 
after  the  latter  date  no  one  seems  to  have 
thought  of  writing  up  the  history  or  origin 
of  the  song.  But  the  Bostonians  and  their 
neighbours  heard  it  often  enough  during  the 
years  immediately  following.  The  British 
troops  began  to  sing  it  in  derision  of  the 
Americans.  The  soldiers  had  been  made  to 
feel  that  they  had  no  business  in  Boston,  and 
they  took  revenge  in  such  ways  as  lay  at 
their  disposal.  Knowing  the  religious  dis- 
position of  many  of  the  Bostonians,  the 
troops  would  often  race  horses  on  the  Com- 
mon on  Sundays  or  cause  their  bands  to  play 
"  Yankee  Doodle  "  just  outside  of  the  church 
doors.1 

1  Fiske's  "  American  Revolution,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  65. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      145 

A  little  later,  when  the  camps  were  in  the 
town  of  Boston,  the  British  custom  was  to 
drum  culprits  out  of  camp  to  the  tune  of 
"  Yankee  Doodle,"  a  decidedly  jovial  "  Can- 
tio  in  exitu."  Still  later  we  find  the  sol- 
diers making  ribald  verses  to  the  melody  and 

singing : 

"  Yankee  Doodle  came  to  town 

For  to  buy  a  firelock ; 
We  will  tar  and  feather  him 
And  so  we  will  John  Hancock." 

But  the  musical  prologue  to  the  Revolution 
was  played  when  Lord  Percy  marched  out  of 
Boston  to  the  relief  of  Colonel  Smith  and 
Major  Pitcairn,  who  were  in  great  stress  at 
Lexington.1  That  surely  was  the  overture 
to  the  great  drama  that  was  beginning.  The 
Americans  immediately  appropriated  the  tune 
and  for  a  long  time  it  was  called  "  The  Lex- 
ington March."  It  may  be  of  interest,  in 
this  connection,  to  know  what  music  cheered 

1  "  History  of  Lexington,"  Hudson,  pp.  197-98,  and 
Fiske's  "American  Revolution,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  124. 


146      The  National  Mtisic  of  America. 


the  other  side.  The  fife  and  drum  attached 
to  Colonel  Pickering's  regiment,  as  it  marched 
from  Salem  to  Lexington,  April  19,  1775, 
played  a  tune  called  "  The  Black  Sloven." 
It  is  preserved  in  an  old  book  of  manu- 
script music  still  existing  in  the  Essex  In- 
stitute at  Salem.  It  is  as  follows  : 

COL.  PICKERING'S  MARCH  TO  LEXINGTON. 


It  will  be  seen  that  neither  side  had  much 
advantage  in  the  quality  of  its  music. 

But  the  subject  of  national  music  ought 
not  to  be  finally  judged  by  the  analytical 
tests  of  the  technical  musician.  When  a 


The  National  Music  of  America.      147 

man  hears  a  melody  in  a  foreign  land,  or  in 
the  midst  of  a  battle  (with  a  ground-bass  of 
shot  and  shell),  he  will  care  very  little  for 
the  historian  who  coldly  tells  him  that  the 
tune  did  not  originate  with  his  nation,  or 
the  contrapuntist  who  haughtily  explains 
that  it  is  very  trashy  music ;  it  represents 
the  land  he  loves,  and  that  is  enough. 
Many  a  man  thinks  he  is  being  thrilled  by 
music,  when  he  is  really  being  moved  by 
memories. 

Yet,  if  we  subject  our  national  melodies 
to  strict  musical  or  historical  tests  the  result 
is  unsatisfactory. 

Richard  Grant  White,  although  making 
many  errors  in  his  historical  statements 
regarding  American  national  music,  is  not 
altogether  wrong,  although  needlessly  harsh, 
when  he  speaks  of  our  three  chief  melodies 
as  follows  : x 

1  "  National  Hymns :  how  they  are  written  and  how 
they  are  not  written,"  pp.  18-22. 


148      The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  As  a  patriotic  song  for  the  people  at  large,  as 
a  national  hymn,  the  '  Star-spangled  Banner '  was 
found  to  be  almost  useless.  The  range  of  the  air,  an 
octave  and  a  half,  places  it  out  of  the  compass  of 
ordinary  voices  ;  and  no  change  that  has  been  made 
in  it  has  succeeded  in  obviating  this  paramount  objec- 
tion, without  depriving  the  music  of  that  characteris- 
tic spirit  which  is  given  by  its  quick  ascent  through 
such  an  extended  range  of  notes.1 

"  The  words,  too,  are  altogether  unfitted  for  a 
national  hymn.  They  are  almost  entirely  descriptive, 
and  of  a  particular  event.  .  .  .  The  lines  are  also 
too  long  and  the  rhyme  too  involved  for  a  truly 
patriotic  song.  They  tax  the  memory ;  they  should 
aid  it. 

"  The  rhythm,  too,  is  complicated,  and  often  harsh 
and  vague.  ...  In  fact,  only  the  choral  lines  of  this 
song  have  brought  it  into  general  favour. 

" '  And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave.' 

"  But  even  in  regard  to  this,  who  cannot  but  wish 
that  the  spangles  could  be  taken  out,  and  a  good, 
honest  flag  be  substituted  for  the  banner  ? 

" '  The  Star-spangled  Banner,'  though  for  these 
reasons  so  utterly  inadequate  to  the  requirements  of 
a  national  hymn  that  the  people  stood  mute  while  in 
some  instances  it  was  sung  by  a  single  voice,  or  in 

1  This  came  from  its  original  use  as  a  drinking  song. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      149 

most  cases  it  was  only  played  by  a  band,  is  yet  far 
the  best  of  the  three  songs,  which,  for  lack  of  better, 
have  until  now  been  called  American  national 
airs. 

"  Of  the  other  two, '  Yankee  Doodle  '  has  the  claim 
of  long  association,  and  will  probably  always  retain 
a  certain  degree  of  a  certain  kind  of  favour.  But  no 
sane  person  would  ever  dream  of  regarding  it  as  a 
national  hymn.  Its  words,  as  all  know  who  have  ever 
heard  them,  are  mere  childish  burlesque ;  and  its  air, 
if  air  it  must  be  called,  is  as  comical  as  its  words, 
and  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  being  properly  music. 
.  .  .  '  Hail  Columbia '  is  really  worse  than  '  Yankee 
Doodle.'  That  has  a  character,  although  it  is  comic ; 
and  it  is  respectable,  because  it  makes  no  pretence. 
But  both  the  words  and  the  music  of  '  Hail  Columbia ' 
are  commonplace,  vulgar,  and  pretentious;  and  the 
people  themselves  have  found  all  this  out." 

For  all  this  fierce  indictment,  we  fancy 
that  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  especially  in  its 
words,  may  hold  its  own  beside  the  song 
which  won  the  English  Revolution  —  "  Lilli- 
burlero." 

Through  the  remainder  of  our  Revolution 
"  Yankee  Doodle  "  was  frankly  accepted  by 
the  Americans  as  their  own.  It  had  been 


150      The  National  Music  of  America. 

the  prelude  to  the  war,  it  became  also  its 
postlude. 

At  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown,  in  1781,  there  came  up  a  peculiar 
matter  of  music  for  decision.1  The  Ameri- 
cans had  been  lenient  in  many  of  the  details 
of  the  surrender,  but  on  one  point  they  were 
inflexible.  The  British  had  always  made  it 
a  point  to  demand,  at  the  surrender  of  an 
enemy,  that  the  bands  of  the  captives  should 
play  their  national  music,  thus  humiliating 
the  conquered  by  dragging  their  melody  in 
the  dust  with  them.  They  had  exacted  this 
of  the  American  general,  Lincoln,  at  the 
surrender  of  Charleston.  And  now  the 
American  who  was  conducting  the  negotia- 
tions, Colonel  Laurens,  directed  that  Lord 
Cornwallis's  sword  should  be  received  by 
General  Lincoln,  and  that  the  army,  on 
marching  out  to  lay  down  its  arms,  should 
play  either  a  British  or  a  German  air.  The 

1  See  Fiske's  "  American  Revolution,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  283. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      151 

latter  alternative  was  to  humiliate  the  Hes- 
sians. There  was  no  help  for  it.  On  the 
nineteenth  of  October  Cornwallis's  army, 
7,247  in  number,  with  840  seamen,  marched 
out  with  colours  furled  and  cased,  their 
bands  playing  an  old  English  tune  entitled 
"The  World  Turned  Upside  Down,"  which 
they  undoubtedly  thought  appropriate  to  the 
occasion.  The  American  bands  now  played 
"  Yankee  Doodle."  * 

It  was  a  long  time  after  this  that  Europe 
heard  "Yankee  Doodle"  as  an  American 
anthem.  After  the  War  of  1812  this  also 
came  about.  It  was  in  1814  that  Henry 
Clay  and  John  Quincy  Adams  met  the 
British  ambassador  at  Ghent  to  arrange  the 
final  points  and  to  sign  the  treaty  of 
peace  between  Great  Britain  and  America.1 
The  burghers  of  the  city  were  proud  that 

1  The  treaty  was  signed  Dec.  24,  1814.  The  citizens 
of  Ghent  (whose  sympathies  were  with  the  Americans) 
rejoiced  greatly.  Lossing's  "  Fieldbook  of  the  War  of 
1812,"  p.  1061. 


152       The  National  Mtisic  of  America. 

the  event  should  have  taken  place  within 
their  walls,  and  on  the  day  of  the  signing 
proposed  a  serenade  to  the  two  embassies. 
They  knew  the  English  tune  well  enough, 
but  what  was  the  American  national  hymn  ? ' 
In  much  perplexity  the  bandmaster  went  to 
Henry  Clay  to  inquire  about  it.  Of  course 
he  was  told  that  our  chief  national  melody 
was  "Yankee  Doodle."  As  he  did  not 
know  the  tune  he  begged  Mr.  Clay  to  hum 

1  Although  this  story  has  been  current  since  Clay's 
time,  it  requires  some  emendation.  The  people  of  Ghent 
certainly  knew  of  one  American  tune  at  this  time,  —  "  Hail 
Columbia ;  "  for  this  was  performed  on  the  twenty-seventh 
of  October,  1814,  when  the  Academy  of  Sciences  and  Fine 
Arts  of  Ghent  invited  the  American  commissioners  to 
attend  their  exercises.  A  sumptuous  dinner  followed,  at 
which  the  chief  magistrate  of  Ghent  offered  the  following 
toast,  "  Our  distinguished  guests  and  fellow-members,  the 
American  ministers,  —  may  they  succeed  in  making  an  hon- 
ourable peace  to  secure  the  liberty  and  independence  of 
their  country,"  after  which  the  band  played  "  Hail  Colum- 
bia." The  British  commissioners  were  not  present  at  this 
meeting.  It  is  probable  that  the  bandmaster  above  men- 
tioned wished  to  play  several  American  airs  to  fill  out  the 
proper  length  of  a  serenade,  and  that  this  led  to  the 
whistling  of  "  Yankee  Doodle  "  as  stated. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      153 

it  to  him  that  he  might  note  it  down.  Clay 
tried  and  failed ;  the  secretary  of  legation 
tried  to  warble  the  melody  and  also  came 
to  grief.  Finally,  Clay  rose  to  the  emer- 
gency ;  calling  his  body-servant  he  said, 
"Bob,  whistle  'Yankee  Doodle'  to  this 
gentleman,"  and  from  the  lips  of  that 
musical  darkey  the  first  European  tran- 
scription of  the  tune  as  an  American 
national  song  was  made.  It  was  quickly 
harmonised,  copied,  and  the  serenade  took 
place  as  designed. 

In  summing  up  the  various  theories  re- 
garding "  Yankee  Doodle,"  we  regret  that  it 
is  impossible  to  reach  the  domain  of  cer- 
tainty ;  its  origin  still  remains  shrouded  in 
mystery.  Inferential  proof,  however,  seems 
to  show  that  it  was  an  old  English  country 
dance,  partially  resembling  an  old  Dutch  chil- 
dren's song ;  that  Doctor  Shuckburgh  used 
it  to  satirise  the  New  Englanders  ;  that  it 
was  a  British  tune  at  the  beginning  of  the 


154      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Revolution,  an  American  melody  at  its  end ; 
and  that  it  very  soon  lost  its  local,  New 
England  application,  and  became  entirely 
national. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

"  Hail  Columbia  "  —  Originally  an  Instrumental  Compo- 
sition —  "  The  President's  March  "  —  Doubts  about 
the  Composer. 

IF  an  American  were  asked  the  name  of 
his  national  anthem,  he  would  probably 
pass  by  the  rollicking  "Yankee  Doodle," 
and  the  bombastic  "  Hail  Columbia,"  and 
acknowledge  only  the  "Star-spangled  Ban- 
ner." In  Europe  they  have  decided  the 
matter  differently.  It  is  necessary,  on  state 
occasions  abroad,  when  music  plays  its  part 
in  festivities,  to  know  definitely  what  melody 
to  perform  as  compliment  to  each  nation. 
On  such  occasions  the  European  bands  play 
"  Hail  Columbia "  as  their  homage  to  the 
United  States.  It  was  played,  in  such  man- 
ner, when  the  first  American  war-ship  passed 
»55 


156      The  National  Music  of  America. 

through  the  canal  at  Kiel,  in  Germany,  and 
when  Edison  entered  the  Paris  Grand  Opera 
House,  in  1889,  it  was  "Hail  Columbia" 
which  conveyed  the  homage  of  the  French 
people  to  America  in  the  person  of  the  great 
electrician. 

Yet  "  Hail  Columbia "  has  become  the 
most  threadbare  of  our  national  songs ;  it 
is  a  representative  of  a  bygone  epoch  of 
braggadocio  and  extreme  hyperbole ;  it  is 
as  hopelessly  antiquated  as  the  Fourth  of 
July  Song,  or  the  Ode  upon  the  opening 
of  a  bridge,  printed  in  a  preceding  chapter. 
Yet  it  remains  interesting  as  a  realistic  pic- 
ture of  its  time.  It  arose  in  a  manner  which 
in  itself  would  forbid  its  being  an  art  work 
of  highest  class ;  the  cart,  in  this  case,  was 
put  before  the  horse,  the  music  written  long 
before  the  words,  the  poetry  forced  upon  the 
tune  afterward. 

During  the  Revolution  there  was  a  very 
tawdry  march  often  played  by  the  American 


The  National  Music  of  A  merica.      157 

bands,  entitled  "The  Washington  March." 
When  Washington  was  elected  the  first 
President  of  the  United  States,  some  musi- 
cian hit  on  the  idea  of  composing  something 
better  to  celebrate  the  event  and  for  per- 
formance on  public  occasions  thenceforward. 
Again  we  find  the  conflicting  stories 
connected  with  the  composition  which  seem 
to  accompany  almost  every  successful  piece 
of  national  music.  To  state  the  ascertained 
facts  first ;  it  is  definitely  known  that  the 
composition  was  written  in  1789,  and  that 
it  was  called  "The  President's  March." 
Regarding  its  first  performance  and  its 
composer  there  is  some  doubt.  William 
McKoy,  in  "Poulson's  Advertiser"  for  1829, 
states  that  the  march  was  composed  by  a 
German  musician  in  Philadelphia,  named 
Johannes  Roth.  He  is  also  called  "  Roat " 
and  "Old  Roat,"  in  some  accounts.  That 
there  was  a  Philip  Roth  living  in  Philadel- 
phia at  about  this  time  may  be  easily  proved, 


158      The  National  Music  of  America. 

for  his  name  is  found  in  the  city  directories 
from  1791  to  1799.'  He  appears  as  "Roth, 
Philip,  teacher  of  music,  25  Crown  St." 
Washington  at  this  time  was  a  fellow  citizen 
of  this  musician,  for  he  lived  at  190  High 
Street,  Philadelphia. 

But  there  is  another  claimant  to  the  work. 
There  was  also  in  Philadelphia  at  this 
time  a  German  musician,  whose  name  is 
spelled  in  many  different  ways  by  the  com- 
mentators. He  is  called  "Phyla,"  "Philo," 
"  Pfylo,"  and  "  Pfyles,"  by  various  authors. 
None  of  these  seems  like  a  German  name, 
but  it  is  possible  that  the  actual  name  may 
have  been  "  Pfeil." 2  This  gentleman  of 
doubtful  cognomen  claims  the  authorship 

1  "  History  of  the  Flag  of  the  United  States,"  by  Rear- 
Admiral  Geo.  Henry  Preble,  p.  719. 

2  Through    the    courtesy   of   John   W.    Jordan,   Esq., 
librarian  of  the  Historical  Society  of    Pennsylvania,  we 
learn  that   the  first   Philadelphia  "  City  Directory "  was 
published   in    1785,  the  second  in   1791.     In  neither  of 
these  does  the  name  of  any  musician  bearing  any  resem- 
blance to  the  ones  given  above  appear. 


JOSEPH  HOPKINSON. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      159 

of  the  march  in  question,  or  rather  his  son 
has  claimed  it  for  him.  The  march  is  also 
claimed  by  this  son  to  have  been  first  played 
on  Trenton  Bridge  as  Washington  rode  over, 
on  his  way  to  the  New  York  inauguration. 
Richard  Grant  White,  however,  states,  on 
what  authority  we  know  not,  that  the  work 
was  first  played  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  of 
Washington  to  the  old  John  Street  Theatre 
in  New  York.1 

But  "The  President's  March"  would 
eventually  have  died  a  natural  death,  had 
it  not  suddenly  received  an  accession  of 
patriotic  words.  These  words  were  written 
by  J.  Hopkinson,  Esq.,  who  afterward  be- 
came the  Hon.  Joseph  Hopkinson,  LL.D., 

1  "  National  Hymns,"  p.  22,  foot-note.  But  in  this  para- 
graph, R.  G.  White  is  altogether  too  omniscient.  He 
brushes  away  the  most  disputed  points  with  comical 
terseness.  "  The  '  Star-spangled  Banner,'  is  an  old  French 
air,"  .  .  .  "  '  Yankee  Doodle '  is  an  old  English  air,"  —  are 
specimens  of  this  dismissal  of  doubtful  topics  by  the  liter- 
ary autocrat.  It  may  be  good  critical,  but  it  is  very  poor 
historical,  writing. 


160      The  National  Music  of  America. 

vice-president  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  Arts,  etc.  As  to  the  writing  of 
the  words,  we  can  have  no  better  authority 
than  Doctor  Hopkinson  himself,  and  we 
therefore  quote  a  letter  written  to  Rev. 
Rufus  W.  Griswold,  a  short  time  before 
Hopkinson' s  death : 

" '  Hail  Columbia '  was  written  in  the  summer  of 
1 798,  when  war  with  France  was  thought  to  be  inev- 
itable. Congress  was  then  in  session  in  Philadelphia, 
debating  upon  that  important  subject,  and  acts  of 
hostility  had  actually  taken  place.  The  contest 
between  England  and  France  was  raging,  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States  were  divided  into  parties 
for  the  one  side  or  the  other,  some  thinking  that  policy 
and  duty  required  us  to  espouse  the  cause  of  'repub- 
lican France,'  as  she  was  called,  while  others  were 
for  connecting  ourselves  with  England,  under  the 
belief  that  she  was  the  great  preservative  power  of 
good  principles  and  safe  government.  The  violation 
of  our  rights  by  both  belligerents  was  forcing  us  from 
the  just  and  wise  policy  of  President  Washington, 
which  was  to  do  equal  justice  to  both  but  to  take 
part  with  neither,  and  to  preserve  an  honest  and 
strict  neutrality  between  them.  The  prospect  of  a 


The  National  Music  of  A merica.      1 6 1 

rupture  with  France  was  exceedingly  offensive  to  the 
portion  of  the  people  who  espoused  her  cause,  and 
the  violence  of  the  spirit  of  party  has  never  risen 
higher,  I  think  not  so  high,  in  our  country,  as  it  did 
at  that  time  upon  that  question.  The  theatre  was 
then  open  in  our  city.  A  young  man  belonging  to  it, 
whose  talent  was  high  as  a  singer,  was  about  to  take 
a  benefit.  I  had  known  him  when  he  was  at  school. 
On  this  acquaintance  he  called  on  me  one  Saturday 
afternoon,  his  benefit  being  announced  for  the  fol- 
lowing Monday.  His  prospects  were  very  disheart- 
ening; but  he  said  that  if  he  could  get  a  patriotic 
song  adapted  to  '  The  President's  March,'  he  did  not 
doubt  of  a  full  house  ;  that  the  poets  of  the  theatrical 
corps  had  been  trying  to  accomplish  it,  but  had  not 
succeeded.  I  told  him  I  would  try  what  I  could  do 
for  him.  He  came  the  next  afternoon,  and  the  song, 
such  as  it  is,  was  ready  for  him.  The  object  of  the 
author  was  to  get  up  an  American  spirit  which  should 
be  independent  of,  and  above  the  interests,  passion, 
and  policy  of  both  belligerents,  and  look  and  feel 
exclusively  for  our  honour  and  rights.  No  allusion  is 
made  to  France  or  England,  or  the  quarrel  between 
them,  or  to  the  question  which  was  most  in  fault  in 
their  treatment  of  us.  Of  course  the  song  found 
favour  with  both  parties,  for  both  were  American, 
at  least  neither  could  disown  the  sentiments  and  feel- 
ings it  indicated.  Such  is  the  history  of  this  song, 
which  has  endured  infinitely  beyond  the  expectation 
of  the  author,  as  it  is  beyond  any  merit  it  can  boast 


1 62      The  National  Music  of  America. 

of  except  that  of  being  truly  and  exclusively  patriotic 
in  its  sentiment  and  spirit. 

"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"JOS.    HOPKINSON. 

"  Rev.  Rufus  W.  Griswold." 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  all  party  allu- 
sions are  carefully  avoided  in  the  verses  ;  the 
fourth  stanza,  beginning  "Behold  the  chief 
who  now  commands,"  refers  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  that  time,  John  Adams,  and  not  to 
Washington,  as  some  commentators  suppose. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the 
faulty  rhymes,  the  exaggerated  metaphors ; 
these  were  the  prevailing  faults  of  the  times 
when  the  song  was  written. 

The  actor  who  was  to  benefit  by  Mr.  Hop- 
kinson's  hurried  effort  was  named  Gilbert 
Fox ;  he  reaped  a  golden  harvest  through 
the  loyalty  of  his  poetic  friend.  The  Phila- 
delphia morning  papers  of  April  25,  1798, 
contained  the  announcement  of  Mr.  Fox's 
benefit,  when  there  was  to  be  performed  the 


The  National  Music  of  America.      163 

tragedy  of  "  The  Italian  Monk,"  '  —  "  after 
which  an  entire  new  song  (written  by  a  citi- 
zen of  Philadelphia),  to  the  tune  of  'The 
President's  March,'  will  be  sung,  accom- 
panied by  a  full  band  and  a  grand  chorus." 
The  success  was  immediate  and  emphatic. 
The  theatre  was  crowded,  and  the  new  song 
redemanded  more  than  half  a  dozen  times. 
The  audience  were  already  familiar  with  the 
tune ;  before  its  seventh  repetition  they  had 
familiarised  themselves  with  the  words  of  the 
refrain,  and  finally  all  stood  up  and  joined 
with  Mr.  Fox  in  the  chorus  : 

"  Firm  united  let  us  be, 
Rallying  round  our  Liberty. 
As  a  band  of  brothers  joined 
Peace  and  safety  we  shall  find." 

The  song  was  soon  heard  on  the  streets. 
In  later  times  the  melody  which  began  in 
company  with  "The  Italian  Monk"  was 

xSee  Preble's  "History  of  the  Flag  of  the  United 
States,"  p.  716. 


164      The  Natio-nal  Music  of  America. 

continued  by  the  Italian  and  his  monkey ; 
it  seemed  as  if  "  Hail  Columbia "  were 
imperishable. 

All  national  songs  undergo  some  alteration 
and  improvement  during  their  constant  usage. 
Sometimes  the  original  version  of  such  song-? 
is  full  of  musical  flaws  and  harmonic  errors. 
The  "  Marseillaise  "  in  its  early  editions  had 
a  trumpet  fanfare  at  the  end  of  each  verse 
that  would  not  have  passed  muster  in  any 
musical  examination ;  Carey's  original  copy 
of  "  God  Save  Great  George,  our  King  "  had 
many  harmonic  errors.1  In  a  similar  way, 
we  find  "  Hail  Columbia  "  in  its  first  version 
(now  in  possession  of  the  author)  to  contain 
musical  progressions  that  set  the  teeth  on 
edge. 

We  reprint  this  rare  and  early  edition ;  it 
will  be  noticed  that  the  song  has  not  yet 
received  a  title,  that  the  combination  of 

1  See  ChappelPs  "  National  English  Airs,"  \>.  86,  foot- 
note—  Doctor  Harington's  letter. 


The  National  Music  of  America,      165 

"  Voice,  Piano-Forte,  Guittar  and  Clarinett " 
is  not  one  which  would  appeal  to  any  mod- 
ern orchestral  writer,  and  that  the  composer 
seems  to  have  had  one  undeviating  rule,  — 
"  when  in  doubt,  play  the  key-note  !  " 

Yet  the  hearts  of  the  forefathers  thrilled 
with  emotion  when  liberty  was  the  theme, 
and  did  not  greatly  mind  if  its  expression 
was  uncouth.  The  "  Favourite  New  Fed- 
eral Song  "  had  come  to  stay  in  spite  of  all 
its  defects. 


1 66      The  National  Music  of  America. 


?}oyll  tic  prfce yoar     nlor    .on    let       Intefen-fonce     >»      oar    bn«tt 


Jt     ft       cbft  erer    r  rueful        for  the  pr lie        lef    iff     ^«Jr«     "•''''""Skit. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      167 


>r««1  (Mtlota  rife   one*   matt 
D«f.nd  yonr    rir.h1i —.defend  your f»or« 
bet  DO  rait   to*  «Hh  implons  hand 
te«  DO  rtrfo    fM  with  impious  hand 
.lBT.de   the  fhrine  vhfte   f.cred  tin 
.Of  toll  »nd  Mood  <h«  irril  e.irnd  prir. 

Vrllile  offeorinff  peace  f  iiucre  and  juft 
In  heaVn  »*  pttce  •  mmoly  twh>.. 
Thai   tralh  and  jnftlce  Till  prf»»il 
And  crerr  f  them*  of  bondaEe  fail 
Firm_onited*c 


let  Wafkinjtont 

RiaC  «hn>  «k»  world 
Rint  <hro  ti«  »orld  v«h  loud 
Lrt    ererr  cliale  toTfeerfom  Jear 
Liften  with  •  JoTfnl   «lr__ 

With  ec,oal  ikOt  *wHk  (oolife*  p«vr 
H.  (OTeratlBtK*  f.irful  honr 
Of  horrid  »»r  or  (nidti  with  «a(e 
.The   hapoltr  tlmaa  of  honeft  »eice_ 
Firm  —  aoitcd  to  . 


4 

••bold  th>  Chief   <rho    no«    com«and» 
One*   more  to  fenrt  hit  Counlrr    Claud* 
The  rock  on  «bidi  <tw  ftorm  win  be«# 
The  rockoo  «*ich  <b>  (torm  will  beat 
itot   irmd  in  rlrtrft  firm  and  tma 
flii  fcopei  are  .fix'd  on  he«'t.  arid  yoa  _ 
When  hope  «a.  finking     in  difmay 
Wkon    (looma    ohfcor'd  Columbia!   44V 
Hit  ftaady  mind  front  changes  frw>    " 
Refolred  on  Death  or  Libertr_ 
Firm united  fcc   . 


'  For  «he  FLUTE  or  VlOtlN 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"  The  Star-spangled  Banner  "  —  Its  English  Origin  —  Orig- 
inally a  Drinking-song  —  Doubts  Regarding  Composer 

—  Its    English    Uses  —  A    Masonic    Ode  —  Its    First 
American  Setting  —  "  Adams  and  Liberty  "  —  Robert 
Treat  Paine  —  Its  Great  Setting  by  Francis  Scott  Key 

—  A  Doubtful  Story  Regarding  Its  First  Union  with 
the  Music. 

WE  now  come  to  the  national  melody 
which  is  dearest  to  the  American  heart, 
and,  as  usual,  we  find  many  statements  that 
will  not  bear  the  test  of  investigation,  and 
the  customary  doubt  as  to  who  the  composer 
may  have  been.  Richard  Grant  White's 
statement  that  it  is  an  old  French  tune  has 
not  been  substantiated.  The  earliest  form 
in  which  we  find  the  melody  of  "  The  Star- 
spangled  Banner  "  is  in  the  guise  of  an  Eng- 
lish drinking-song,  entitled  "  To  Anacreon  in 
1 68 


The  National  Music  of  America.       169 

Heaven."  The  author  is  in  possession  of 
an  old  copy  of  this,  which  gives  the  above 
title,  and  also  calls  it  "A  Celebrated  Jolly 
Song,"  but  presents  the  name  of  neither 
composer  nor  author.  We  give  a  reprint 
of  this  rare  edition  after  its  quaint  poem. 
The  music  has  been  ascribed  to  Dr.  Samuel 
Arnold  (1739-1802),  composer  to  his  Ma- 
jesty's Chapel,  and  also  to  John  Stafford 
Smith  as  a  transcriber  from  the  "  old  French 
air  "  aforesaid.  The  words  are  attributed  to 
Ralph  Tomlinson,  who  was,  in  the  last  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  president  of  the 
Anacreontic  Society  of  London,  a  wild  bac- 
chanalian club  which  held  its  meetings  at  the 
"  Crown  and  Anchor  "  in  the  Strand.  The 
date  of  the  drinking-song  may  be  placed 
between  1770  and  1775.  Probably  at  about 
the  time  that  liberty  had  its  birth,  in 
America,  the  tune  which  was  to  become  the 
chief  song  of  freedom  had  its  inception,  in 
England. 


I/O      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Here    are    the    verses   of    the    drinking- 
song  : 

"  To  Anacreon  in  Heaven,  where  he  sat  in  full  Glee, 
A  few  sons  of  Harmony  sent  a  Petition. 
That  he  their  Inspirer  and  Patron  would  be ; 
When  this  answer  arrived  from  the  jolly  old  Grecian. 
'Voice,  Fiddle,  and  Flute, 
No  longer  be  mute, 

I'll  lend  you  my  Name  and  inspire  you  to  boot. 
And  besides,  I'll  instruct  you  like  me  to  intwine 
The  Myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  Vine.' 
(Chorus  repeats  last  two  lines.) 

"  The  news  through  Olympus  immediately  flew ; 
When  Old  Thunder  pretended  to  give  himself  airs. 
4  If  these  mortals  are  suffer'd  their  schemes  to  pur- 
sue, 

The  Devil  a  Goddess  will  stay  above  stairs. 
Hark  already  they  cry 
In  Transports  of  Joy, 
Away  to  the  Sons  of  Anacreon  we'll  fly, 
And  there  with  good  fellows  we'll  learn  to  intwine 
The  Myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  Vine.' 
(Chorus.) 

" '  The  Yellow-haired  God  and  his  nine  fusty  Maids, 
From  Helicon's  banks  will  incontinent  flee, 
Idalia  will  boast  but  of  tenantless  shades, 
And  the  bi-forked  Hill  a  mere  Desart  will  be. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      171 

My  Thunder,  no  fear  on't 
Will  soon  do  its  Errand, 

And  dam'me,  I'll  swinge  the  Ringleaders,  I  war- 
rant, 

I'll  trim  the  young  dogs,  for  thus  daring  to  twine 
The  Myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  Vine.' 
(Chorus.) 

"  Apollo  rose  up  and  said  '  Pr'ythee  ne'er  quarrell, 
Good  King  of  the  Gods,  with  my  Vot'ries  below ; 
Your  Thunder  is  useless,'  then,  showing  his 

Laurel, 

Cry'd  '  Sic  Evitabile  Fulmen,  you  know. 
Then  over  each  Head 
My  Laurels  I'll  spread 
So  my  Sons  from  your  Crackers  no  Mischief  shall 

dread. 
Whilst  snug  in  their   Club   Room,  they  jovially 

twine 

The  Myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  Vine.' 
(Chorus.) 

"  Next  Momus  got  up  with  his  risible  Pniz, 
And  swore  with  Apollo  he'd  chearfully  join, 
'  The  full  tide  of  Harmony  still  shall  be  his, 
But  the  Song,  and  the  Catch,  and  the  Laugh,  shall 

be  mine. 

Then  Jove  be  not  jealous 
Of  these  honest  fellows.' 


172      The  National  Music  of  America. 


Cry'd  Jove  — '  We'll  relent,  since  the  Truth  you 

now  tell  us ; 
And  swear  by  Old  Styx  that  they  long  shall  in- 

twine 

The  Myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  Vine.' 
(Chorus.) 

"  Ye  Sons  of  Anacreon,  then  join  Hand  in  Hand ; 
Preserve  Unanimity,  Friendship,  and  Love, 
'Tis  yours  to  support  what's  so  happily  plann'd, 
You've  the  sanction  of  Gods  and  the  Fiat  of  Jove. 
While  thus  we  agree 
Our  Toast  let  it  be, 

May  our  Club  nourish  happy,  united  and  free. 
And  long  may  the  Sons  of  Anacreon  intwine 
The  Myrtle  of  Venus  and  Bacchus's  Vine." 
(Chorus.) 

THE  ORIGINAL  MUSIC. 


rzg     j 

F=rF:l 

To  A- 

j^S=t==£=fc 

nacreon  in  Heav'n  Where  he 

-1  • 
sat   ii 

_  J  —  «>  »  — 
i  full  Glee,    A 

|—  1       i       rr= 

—  J  —  J 

Si 


few  Sons  of  Harmony 


sent  a  Petition  That 


he  their  Inspirer  and 


^ 


The  National  Music  of  America.       173 


[jf-  (••       1        1 

uft.-     »   ^       J        N     ft 

m\     J   ;  ^—  *-+d 

Pa-tron  would  be,    When  this 

An-swer  ar  -  rived  from  the 

= 

—  ""     ~m 

h  -*-  *  **       * 

J$-p-  ^T-~ 

^  c  r  r  -m 

jol  -  ly 

old   Gre 

-  cian," 

Voice 

,  Fid  -  dle,and  Flute,    no 

3t 

**     '              —  \  '  ' 

!^E 

-1  —  f    r    *•  *i  ->- 

long  -  er    be  mute,     I'll 

@  ^      T   T    r  - 

lend  you  my    name  and   in  - 

I            -4    1 

1  1  1  
=jF=i>      4_i_j=3^ 

/     spire  yoi 

i    to    boot  ;  And  be  - 

-i  —  £   r 

sides  I'll    in-structyou,like 

-p—    ^  —        a>     •        » 

iEfr-S-fj^J-t 

—  4- 

_- 

PI*                                 <r 

*^  me,  to  in  -  twine  The 

Hi 

myrtle  of 

Venus  with  Bacchus's  Vine. 

—  hJ  —  E  —  i  EE£ 

^E- 

'     •  '     •>    1  J            J    ~  1 

CHORUS. 


Pf~ 

f^T^ 

\        ,    i 

*rA° 

i  be- 

^^^ 

sides  I 

1        '       '      ^ 
'11  instruct  you.like 

me,  to  in-twi 

ic  The 

Jr 

p.    | 

a 

*  •   *    *      c 

-|     h  1    - 

-i  \~ 

And  be- 

^  *  r 

sides  I'  11  instr 

uct  you.like 

-J.    J    J  !  *— 
me,  to  intwine  The 

T  f—  l 

1 74      The  National  Music  of  America. 


T-rn^TT   r  -^ 

_*    ,  ?        ?  .m  &     - 

BB: 

^Mj 
3= 

^U  —  B"  —  !  1  
rr  -  tie     of     Ve  -  nus    with 

^j  —  p  hcr~  1  
Bacchus  -'s      Vine. 

~~1^     1  i—  1"  : 

[ 

1          h      1         1 

^ 
M' 

^&~p 

^  *      J       j=|  E 
irr-  tie     of       Ve  -  nus    with 

Bacchus  -  's     Vine. 

'      "         •)        =J- 

\l  U 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  music  differed  in 
some  points,  both  of  melody  and  harmony, 
from  the  present  setting. 

That  the  melody  was  very  popular  in  Eng- 
land is  shown  by  the  many  editions  that  were 
published,  and  also  by  the  plagiarisms  and 
paraphrases  that  followed.  The  author  pos- 
sesses a  Masonic  setting  of  the  tune  which 
bears  the  imprint  "Dublin,  A.  L.  5802" 
(A.  D.  1 802),  which  also  gives  no  credit  to 
the  original  composer.  It  is  contained  in 
"A  Selection  of  Masonic  Songs,"  by  Brother 
S.  Holden.  We  present  a  fac-simile  of  this 
version. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      175 


MASONIC   ODE. 

SOVO  an<{  CHORUS  .Written bjBTCotuiel,' 
-onb«hulfof  the  Masonic OrphanBehool. 


/"j 
f 

V 

( 


o  old  Hiram,  In  Heavpwbcrehe  sat  in  ftall 

i  f  °1     '-^ 


PH 


Jus  sent  up  ape.tition,  Hurt 


$^Lf=t=fy=&=£^ 

**     H«, their   in-spirer  and    Pa-tronwould  be,    To 

'-fr  1  rr^r  J.j-j-4. 


feelpMastfns 


r  • 


"  r/ 


3E 


P 

vS 


r 


Crods  weft  all  |hate,\vfaenhe  mention'doi 


n    r  TT-T 


^ 


•j£*'jt  r     P — »    j .  _••-»!  » — 

,^  *  I        r     f— pL^.  .fff-q 


g-avetheirconscnt,aaddo -na-tions  to  boot, 


^ 


'volti  Sn 


bita 


1 76      The  National  Music  of  America. 

56  '      CHOKDTS  '2?tim«. 


SS 


Then  who  would  not  wisn,likeC«-lestial8  di  -vine. 


r-  r-T r ' 


Then  who  would  not  wishJiKeCe-lestials  di  -vine. 


Then  who  would  not  wiahfliteoCe-lestiaUdi  -vine, 


Then  whoVonld  not  wishjKlrtCeJeitiala  di-vinef 


u^fmWfl'p 


In  .a  cause, like  the  present  to  cheerful  -ly  Join 


In  a  cxose,like  the  present  to  cheerful  .ly  join 


|a  a  cause, JikeUie present  to ch««ifnl-ljr  join. 


IB  a  cause,! Ikcthepreseat  to  cheerful  Jy  join, 


Tnc  Messeixj-er  flew, to ourKrryal  Arch  Dome, 
Vhere  the  Masons  were  seated ,in  gnat  expectation 

The  Tyler,  was  ready*  —auiwunced  ha  /was  conic , 
When  the  Lodge  was  resomcd,eTery  Slanin  his  station; 

Onr  Grand  Mastef  there, 

Kill'd  the  Royal  ArchChair,^ 

JWhen  ho  readjev'ry  Brother  with  rapture  d  jit  stare '. 
Bejo IcccU  that  theGods ,  wit'hTdonations  di  vine, 
Ta  assist  Masons  Orphans,d  id  cheerfully  join. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      177 

StraiMhejiews  was  made  public,tho Brotherhood  ran, 
T6  announce, to  all  Masons,  old  Hi  rams  direction, 
They  bow'd  to  the  summons, and  all  to  a  man, 
Cl  ulilAl  toffcthcr thuir  miles, for theOrohaas*  p rotcctian. 

•u'ives,  "Widows, and  Maids, 

Ami,  Men  of  all  trades, 

To  ASTl.t:  Y  s  came  running-  to  offer  their  aids, 
A  ad.  all  who  contribute  donations  to  join, 
For  tlicOrphans'of  Ma  sons,  are  surely  divine  1 

Here,  our  thanks  for  each  Orphan,  is  gratefully  given, 
\s  you  cherish  them,  maytheOods  cherish  jou, 
And,  scat  you,  hereafter,  vrith  Angels  in  Heav  n  1 
Munificence,  never  will  bid  you  adieu  ! 

May  free  commerce  and  trade ' 

O'er  this  Island  pervade  I 

And  Peace; withher  blessings, your  happfawss  aid! 
An  d,lonff  may  you  live, here, to  cheerfUly  join, 
for, Charity  parchasea  bless ing-s  divine  1 

Ve,BrotherstassemMed,  I  now  address  you, 
Prosperity  smile  on  our  great  institution! 
May  those  whom  we cherish, still  virtue 'pursue, 
At  the  s-hrineof  Free-Masonry  make  retribution, 
'  May  each  worthy  Brother, 
Protect  one  another, 

And, Secrecy,  still  shall  our  Mystery  smother; 
And, long1  may  Free -Mas onry,prudently  twine, 
PuilantrophyJCharity.'Wjsdoin.'and  "VTine. 


1/8      The  National  Music  of  America. 

We  can  now  examine  the  American  usages 
of  the  tune,  and  it  is  important  to  our  pur- 
pose to  show  that  even  in  the  eighteenth 
century  the  melody  was  known  to  almost 
every  one  in  the  United  States.  Its  first 
patriotic  setting  was  made  by  Robert  Treat 
Paine,  in  1798.  Mr.  Paine  seems  to  have 
previously  devoted  his  attention  to  the  Ameri- 
can employment  of  English  melodies,  and  in 
1794  he  had  set  "Rule  Britannia,"  altering 
its  sentiment  into  "  Rise  Columbia."  As  this 
was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  patriotic  plagi- 
arisms, we  append  a  fac-simile  from  an  edition 
dated  1798.' 

1  "  Who  wrote  '  Rule  Britannia  ? '  The  discussion  is 
raging  rather  fiercely  in  Scotland,  and  it  bids  fair  to  be  as 
endless  as  the  question,  who  composed  '  God  Save  the 
Queen  ? '  Arne,  of  course,  wrote  the  music  of  '  Rule 
Britannia,'  but  the  words  of  the  masque  of  '  Alfred  '  (first 
performed  in  1740  at  Clieveden,  then  the  residence  of 
Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales)  were  attributed  jointly  to 
David  Mallet,  a  Perthshire  poet,  and  James  Thomson, 
the  poet  of  'The  Seasons.'  No  one  knows  how  much 
each  wrote  of  the  six  lyrical  pieces  which  the  masque 
originally  contained,  but  Mallet,  when  he  rearranged 


The  National  Music  of  America.      1 79 


TdSE.  COLUMBIA 
AA  WBfionai  SaNc  *ritien  by  Mr.  THOMAS  PAINE  of  B»»TO». 

~~"jfc— .  ^*" 


When  firflrthe     Sun-    o'sr     O  -  cean    glow'd 


And  earth  un -•  veil'd      her      virgin    breaft, 


Supreme  mid  Nature's,  mid  Nature's  vafl  abode, 


Was  heard  th'Al  -  migh  -  ty's  dread  beheft  : 


Rife  Columbia,       Columbia  brave  and     free, 


fioize  the      globe    and  bound  t ha 


1 80      The  National  Music  of  America. 

,C_H  o  R  u  s; 


Rife  Columbia,     Columbia  brave  and  free, 


Poize  the     globe    and  bound  the  fea. 

•**'!•       •  ••  •     «••• in  •••    £3*«fr  •Q-M    "  •<•••'»**••*- 

»-y^»«»»*-hB^>jnV--^»—  \    1 1   >-— ..-•''"  i •  .p •  .•J-»«««»» 


3:: 


In  davkjacfs  wrapp'd,. with  fetters  chain'd'; 

Will  ages  grope,  debas'd  and  blind, . 
With  blood  the  human  hand  be  ft iin'*l— 

"With  tyrant  power,  tbt  human  mind. 

Rife  Coiivws  i A,  &c. 
Su»,  lo  !  acrofs  th'AUantic  floods, 

The  ftar-direftcd  pilgrim  fails  ! ' 
See !  fell'd  by  Commerce,  float  thy  wood? 

And  cloth'd  by  Ceres,  wave  thy  vales  ! 

Rlfis  COLUUXIA,  &C, 


The  National  Music  of  America.      1 8 1 

|a  vain*  (Hall  thrones,  In  arms  combin'd, 

Th«  facred  rights  I  gave,  oppofe 
In  thee  th'  afylum  of  mankind, 

Shall  welcome  nations  find  repoie. 
Rife  COLUMBIA.,  &c. 

Nor  yer,  though  /kill'd,  delight  in  arms  ; 

PEACE  and  her  offspring  A* TS,  be  thine  : 
The  face  of.freedom  fcarce  has  charms, 

When,  on  her  cheek*,  no  dimples  fhine. 
Rife  COLUMBIA,  &c. 

While  Fame,  for  thee,  her  wreath  entwine*, 
To  BLESS,  thy  nobler  triumph  prove, ; 

And  though  the  RAGLE  haunts  thy  PINES, 
Beneath  thy.  WILLOW.*  (hield  the  DOVE. 
Rife  COLUMBIA,  &c. 

When  bolts  the  flame,  or  whelms  the  waye> 
Be  thine,  to  rule  the  way  ward  hour— 

"Bid  DEATH  unbar  the  watery  grave, 
And  VWLCAN  yield  to  NBFTWW**$  pow'r» 
Rife  COLUMBIA,  &c. 

Rever'd  in  arms,  in  peace- tiumsne— 

No  (hore,  nor  realm  fhall  bound  thy  fway, 
While  all  the  virtues  own  thy 
And  fubjeft  elements  obey  ! 
JRi/«  COLUMBIA, 
Bkft  the  Glebe,  and  rule  the  St&  I 


1 82      The  National  Music  of  America. 

June  i,  1/98,  the  Massachusetts  Chari- 
table Fire  Society  celebrated  its  anniversary 
in  Boston,  with  a  meeting  and  banquet. 
Robert  Treat  Paine  had  been  commissioned 
to  write  a  song  for  this  occasion.  When 
first  given,  it  awakened  such  an  enthusiasm 
that  it  was  immediately  published  broadcast. 
Paine  received  $750  for  the  copyright,  an 
enormous  sum  for  those  days.  In  the  fac- 
simile of  this  work  which  is  given  (from  the 

'Alfred'  for  Garrick  and  Mrs.  Arne  at  Drury  Lane  in 
1751,  declared  that  of  Thomson's  work  he  only  retained 
'  three  or  four  single  speeches  and  a  part  of  one  song,' 
and,  moreover,  inasmuch  as  he  allowed  Lord  Bolingbroke 
to  mutilate  three  stanzas  of  '  Rule  Britannia,'  there  is 
some  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  the  '  one  song '  referred 
to.  For  those  who  know  the  race  best  will  agree  that, 
although  poets  would  willingly  allow  anybody  to  rewrite 
the  works  of  their  friends,  they  would  not  admit  that 
even  a  peer  of  the  realm  could  improve  upon  their  own 
masterpieces.  The  whole  question  was  thrashed  out 
when  it  was  raised  in  1851  by  the  late  Dr.  Dinsdale, 
when  William  Chappell  very  powerfully  urged  the  claims 
of  Thomson  to  the  authorship.  The  Scotch  disputants 
may  meanwhile  content  themselves  with  the  reflection 
that  both  Thomson  and  Mallet  were  born  north  of  the 
Tweed."  —  London  Daily  News. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      183 

"  American  Musical  Miscellany,"  1798,  in 
possession  of  the  author),  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  name  of  the  poet  is  printed  as 
"  T.  Paine ; "  this  was,  in  fact,  his  name  in 
1798.  He  was  baptised  "Thomas,"  but 
when  the  freethinker  of  that  name  began 
to  publish  his  attacks  on  the  religion  of 
the  time,  he  developed  such  a  dislike  of 
the  cognomen  that,  in  1801,  he  petitioned 
the  legislature  to  allow  him  to  assume  a 
Christian  name,  and  was  graciously  permitted 
to  take  the  celebrated  name  of  his  father, 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence, —  Robert  Treat  Paine. 


ADAMS  AND  LIBERTY— BY  T.  PAIN*; 


1 84      The  National  Music  of  America. 


Ye      Tons  of  Co  -  lum  -  bia, .  who    bravely 


r35-II£IZIj!in?tz3  ""lUCEHT/i!" 

have  fought, For  thofe  rights,  which  unflain'd  from- 


The  National  Music  of  America.      185 


— *-l 


^ 

Iyour      Sires   had      de-.fcend-cd,   Mavyou 
3r£—]F" E~f 


~*~~""         "~j       ~     •      — 


^        long   tafte  thi 


long  tafte  the    bleffings    your    valour     has 


bought,  And  your  fons  reap    the   foil,  which  you 


•  —.-4  . '  — .1— w — L — • — _j — L___i__i — JL 

I — 2?zz3 1 — ! — tiji — nc — zj — t.i 


^  fathers        defended,        Mid  the  reign  of 


1 86      The  National  Music  of  America^ 


i  vy  'g  ^*™T*~T^     r*~~tf '    T*~~*>  *    '  o  t"~"^"**v*' 

I  g£EiEzE§EiExE£E^B 


mild      peace,  May  your 


Irnild      pea 
3-3EIEE 


nation       in- 


rarnlr- 


1-1 


y        creafe,  With  the        glory      of  Rome*  and  the 

111 


wifdom  of  Greece  ;      And    ne'er  may     the 


fons      of      COLUMBIA     be  flaves,  Whilethe 


The  National  Music  of  America.      187 


\      earth  bears  a     plant,  or  the  fea  rolls  its  waves. 


earth  bears  a     plant,  or  the  fea  rolls  its  waves. 


E 


1      ,--,,-,  -  -  ,-        '        7T         -i         -  ~\          —   1  j_r.L_  _    |>         LI  -|_  I       r»         ^?         i_ r  i  -  ^ 

C L  '  .  *~"1         -:  j  ••  »-»•».— I  1. 1  . » .., *J» 


In  4  clime,  whofc  rich  vales  feed  the  marts  of  the 

world, 

Whofe  (horcs  areurfhakenby  Europe's  commotion) 
The  Trident  of  Commerce  (hould  never  be  hurl'd, 
To  incenfe  the  legitimate  powers  of  the  ocean. 
Cut  {hould  Pirates  invade, 
Though  in  thunder  array'*!) 
Let  your  cannon  declare,  the_/V«f A« rter  of  TRABT. 


1  8  8      The  National  Music  of  A  merica. 


While  the  earth  bears  a  plant}  er  thefta  rolls  t&r  main. 

The  fame  of  our  arms,  of  our  laws  the  mild  fway, 

Had  juftly  ennobled  Our  nation  in  ftory, 
Till  the  dark  -clouds  of-Faflim  obfcur'd  our  young  day, 
And  envclop'd  the  fun  of  American  glory. 
But  let  TRAITORS  be  told, 
Who  their  Country  have  fold, 
And  barter'd  their  God,  for  his  image  in  £old-~ 

That  ne'er  zoill  thtfont  of  COLUMBIA  bejlavest 
While  the  earth  tears  a  plant,  or  thejea  rolls  its  toavet, 

While^F  R  A  N-  c  E  her  huge  limbs  bathes  recumbent  in 

blood, 

Andfociety's  bafe  threats  -with  wide  diffolution  ; 
Ma.y  PEACE,  like  the  Dme^w^o  return'd  from  the  flood) 
Find  an  Ark  of  abode  in  our  mild  CONSTITUTION  \ 
But  though  PEACE  is  our  aim, 
Yet  the  boon,  we  difclaitn» 
If  bought  by  our  So  V'RE  ic  NT  Y,  Ju  s  T  ic  e,  or  FAME, 

for  nferfiaU  the  font  of  COLOMBIA  bejlavcst 
While  the  earth  tears  a  plant  t  ofthefea  rolls-its  QKtttt* 

Tis  the  fire  of  the^mt,  each  American  warms  $ 
Let  Ranz't  haughty  vidors  beware  of  collijion  f 

Let  them  bring  all  thevaflalsof  Europe  in  arms, 
WE'RZ  A  WQBJLD  BY  OURSELVES,  and  difdain  a 


The  National  Music  of  America.      1 89 

While,  with  patriot  pride, 

To  our. LAWS  we're  allied, 
No  foe  can.  fubdue  us—no  f  aft  ion  divide. 
For  ne'er  Jhall  the  Jons  of  Co  LUMB  i  A  bejlaves, 
While  the  earth  tears  a  plant,  or Jhe  fta  rolls  its  »«»«« 

Our  mountains  are  crown'd  with  imperial  Oak, 

Whofe./i?o/5,  hike  our  Liberties,  ages  have  nouiifh'd 
But  long  ere  our  nation  fubmits  to  the  yoke, 
Not  a  tree  fhall  be  left  on  the  field-where  it  flourifli'd. 
Should  invafton  impend, 
Every  grove  would  defcend 

From  the  hill  tops  they  (haded,  oitrjhores  to  defend, 
For  ne'er  Jhall  the" fans  of  COLUMBIA  tejlavfs, 
While  the  earth  bears  a  plant,  or  thefea  rolls  its  waves, 

Let  our  Patriots  deftroy  'Anarch's  peftilcmt  a/orw, 
Left  our  Liberty 's  growth  faould  be  check'dby  corro- 

fion; 
Then  let  clouds  thicken  round  us,  we  heed  not  the 

ftorra  ; 

Our  realm  fears  nojhoik,  but  the  earth's  own  explo. 
fion. 

Foes  ailail  us  in  vain, 
Though  their  FLEETS  bridge  the  main, 
Tor  our  altars  and  laws  with  our  lives  we'll  main- 

tain  ! 

And  ne'er  Jhall  the  fans  ^COLUMBIA  bejlavtst 
fyhite.thc  earth  tears  a  plant,  or  the'fta.  roll*  its  waves. 


igo      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Should  the  TEMPEST  of  WAR  overfliadow  our  land, 

I ts  bolts  could  ne'er  rend  FREEDOM'S  temple  afunderJ 
For,  unraov'd,  at  its  portal^  would  .WASHINGTON 
Hand, 

d :id  rtpulji)  suithhis  B  R  E  A  s  T  .  the  flflaults  of  his  TH  UN  . 
I>ER  ! 

Trl'isfuord,  from  the  fleep 
Of  \\sfcc.biard,  would  leap, 
And  conduft,  with  its  point,  every  Jlajk  to  the  deep- 

1'or  ne\rfia'l  the  fans  of  COLUMBIA  bcjlaves, 
1','hite  (he  earth  Itarsaplant,  or  thejea  rolls  its  unvcs. 

Let  FAME  io  the  world  found  AMERICA'S  voice  ; 
AV  INTRI-CUE  can  her  Jans  frcrn  thur  GOVERNMEN-I- 

Jive r  ; 

Her  PRIDE  is  her  ADAMS— his  LAWS  are  her  CHOICE} 
And  Jkall Jlourijh  till  LIBERTY  Jlumbcr forever  I 
Then  unite,  heart  and  hand, 
Lifte  Leor.idas'  band, 
And  fwear  to  the  GOD  of  the.ocean  and  land, 

fhct  re'er  fnall  the  fans  O/'COLUMBIA  btfi.avC.Sj 

V  hile  tht  eprth  beers  a  plant,  or  thejea  rolls  its  tuavt^ 


The  National  Music  of  America.      191 

"Adams  and  Liberty"  was,  however,  not 
broad  enough  for  a  permanent  national  hymn.1 
It  underwent  changes  enough  to  prove  that 
all  Americans  were  familiar  with  the  tune  of 
the  old  English  drinking-song.  In  1813  it 
appeared  in  a  Patriotic  Songster  in  Phila- 

1  There  is  an  odd  story  connected  with  one  of  the  verses 
of  "  Adams  and  Liberty."  In  the  early  days  of  our  Repub- 
lic it  was  customary  to  speak  of  General  Washington  in 
every  patriotic  poem  or  song.  To  give  a  national  hymn 
without  mentioning  the  Father  of  his  Country  was  like 
presenting  "  Hamlet "  without  Hamlet.  Paine,  in  his 
poem,  thinking  only  of  the  President  of  that  time,  Adams, 
had  omitted  to  introduce  the  name  of  the  chief  national 
hero.  Major  Benjamin  Russell,  of  the  Columbian  Cen- 
tinel  (Boston),  determined  that  the  omission  should  be 
rectified.  He,  therefore,  invited  Mr.  Paine  to  a  dinner, 
and  when  he  entered  the  house  caused  him  to  be  locked 
in  a  room.  He  shouted  over  the  transom,  "  You  will  find 
pen,  ink,  and  paper  on  the  table,"  explained  the  flaw  in 
his  song,  and  told  him  that  he  should  only  come  to  table 
after  the  necessary  verse  had  been  completed.  Under  the 
spur  of  this  necessity,  Mr.  Paine  wrote  the  stanza  begin- 
ning, "  Should  the  Tempest  of  War  overshadow  our 
land ; "  a  verse  not  inspired  by  wine,  but  by  the 
want  of  it.  This  must,  however,  have  occurred  before 
the  printing  of  the  poem,  for  all  the  early  editions  to 
•which  the  author  has  had  access  contain  the  verse  in 
question. 


192      The  National  Music  of  America. 

delphia  as  "  Jefferson  and  Liberty,"  '  and  on 
,the  twenty-fifth  of  March,  in  the  same  year, 
it  was  sung  at  a  festival  in  Boston,  "in 
honour  of  the  Russian  achievements  over 
their  French  invaders,"  to  new  words  set  by 
Alexander  H.  Everett. 

The  above  examples  may  be  sufficient  to 
prove  that  Francis  Scott  Key  must  have 
been  absolutely  familiar  with  the  melody 
when  he  wrote  the  "  Star-spangled  Banner." 
We  now  approach  the  creation  of  the  song 
which,  above  all  others,  may  claim  to  be  the 
national  hymn  of  America.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1814  the  war  which  was  waging 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
seemed  to  run  almost  entirely  in  favour  of 
the  latter  nation  ;  Washington  had  been  cap- 
tured and  burned,  the  shores  of  Chesa- 
peake Bay  were  ravaged  by  the  British  fleet 

1  Jefferson  and  Liberty  "  was  set  in  two  ways,  first  to 
the  tune  now  used  as  "  The  Star-spangled  Banner,"  and, 
second,  to  an  old  Irish  air,  in  1801. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      193 

under  Admiral  Cockburn,  Baltimore  itself 
was  threatened  with  speedy  capture.  At  just 
this  juncture,  Francis  Scott  Key,  a  young 
lawyer,  determined  to  seek  the  British  ad- 
miral to  procure,  if  possible,  the  release  of 
a  certain  Doctor  Beanes,  a  leading  physician 
of  Upper  Marlborough,  Md.,  who  was  his 
personal  friend.  Procuring  proper  creden- 
tials from  President  Madison,  and  proofs  that 
Doctor  Beanes  was  a  non-combatant,  Key  set 
out  on  his  dangerous  mission.  Cockburn 
had  transferred  Doctor  Beanes  to  the  cus- 
tody of  Vice-Admiral  Cochrane,  to  whom 
Key  now  wended.  He  could  not  have  come 
at  a  more  inopportune  moment,  for  Cock- 
burn  had  planned  a  concerted  attack  by  land 
and  sea,  upon  Fort  McHenry,  the  key  to 
Baltimore,  at  about  the  time  that  the  Ameri- 
can envoy  arrived.  Vice-Admiral  Cochrane 
agreed  to  release  Beanes,  and  treated  Key 
and  his  party  with  considerable  courtesy,  but 
refused  to  allow  them  to  return  just  then,  as 


194      The  National  Music  of  America. 

he  feared  that  the  projected  attack  would  be 
betrayed  by  the  American  party,  who  must 
have  seen  the  preparations  going  on  in  the 
fleet.  He  therefore  detained  the  party  on 
board  his  son's  ship,  The  Surprise,1  and  after- 
ward placed  them  under  guard  on  their  own 
cartel-vessel  during  the  night  of  the  attack. 
One  can  imagine  the  feelings  of  a  patriotic 
American,  compelled  to  remain  with  the 
enemy  during  the  important  battle  which 
ensued.2 


1  It  is  impossible  to  give  some  of  the  details  of  the 
detention  with  historical  accuracy.    A  writer  in  the  Ameri- 
can Historical  Record,  January,  1873,  says  that  Key  was 
on  the  cartel-ship  Minden  when  he  wrote  his  immortal 
song ;  Col.  John  L.  Warner,  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
Pennsylvania  Historical  Society  in  1867,  says  Key  "was 
received  with   courtesy  on  board    the  Minden,  Admiral 
Cockburn's  flag-ship."     Rear- Admiral  Preble,  in  his  excel- 
lent "  History   of   the  Flag,"   states,  however,  that  the 
ship  of  the  line  Minden  was  not  in  the  engagement  at  all, 
and  was  not  one  of  the  fleet  at  that  time.     It  was  evi- 
dently another  Minden  on  which  Mr.  Key  wrote  his  verses, 
probably  his  own  little  cartel-ship. 

2  Mr.  Key  was  at  this  time  a  volunteer  in  the  light 
artillery  of  Major  Peter. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      195 

One  can  also  imagine  the  anxiety  with 
which  Key  looked  toward  the  fort  in  the  gray 
of  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1814.  The  bombardment  began  at 
daylight  on  the  thirteenth,  and  continued 
throughout  the  night  following.  Between 
fifteen  and  eighteen  hundred  shells  were 
thrown,  about  four  hundred  falling  within  the 
fortifications.  Yet  only  four  men  were  killed, 
and  twenty-four  wounded,  of  the  garrison  of 
Fort  McHenry.  The  American  party  on 
the  cartel-ship  had  been  increased  by  the 
presence  of  Doctor  Beanes,  whom  Vice-Ad- 
miral  Cochrane  had  courteously  released  and 
given  in  their  charge.  The  firing  suddenly 
ceased  before  daybreak  of  the  fourteenth  of 
September.  Key  and  his  friend,  Mr.  J.  S. 
Skinner,  who  had  been  one  of  the  party  on 
the  Minden,  walked  the  deck  impatiently, 
waiting  for  light  that  they  might  see  the 
result.  At  last  they  were  rewarded  by  be- 
holding the  stars  and  stripes  still  floating 


196      The  National  Music  of  America, 

over  the  American  fort.  The  three  gentle- 
men were  now  informed  that  the  attack 
had  failed,  that  the  soldiers  were  ree'm- 
barking  and  that  as  soon  as  they  had 
got  aboard  the  American  party  was  free  to 
depart. 

During  the  hours  of  the  early  morning, 
beginning  with  that  great  moment  when  he 
had  been  able  to  discern  the  American  flag 
through  his  field-glass,  Key  had  hastily 
jotted  down  the  opening  stanzas  of  the 
poem,  that  was  to  become  so  celebrated, 
on  the  back  of  a  letter  which  he  happened 
to  have  in  his  pocket.  He  finished  it  in 
the  boat  as  he  was  going  up  to  Baltimore, 
and  wrote  out  a  fair  copy  at  the  hotel  in 
that  city  on  the  day  of  his  arrival.  Copies 
were  immediately  struck  off  in  hand-bill 
form,  entitled  "  The  Bombardment  of  Fort 
McHenry." 

On  the  twenty-first  of  September  it  was 
printed  in  the  Baltimore  American,  and  we 


The  National  Music  of  America.       1 97 

we  give  a  reprint  of  its  first  appearance  in 
that  newspaper : 

DEFENCE 

OF 

FORT  M' HENRY. 

The  annexed  song  was  composed  under  the 
following  circumstances  —  A  gentleman  had 
left  Baltimore,  in  a  flag  of  truce  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  released  from  the  British  fleet 
a  friend  of  his  who  had  been  captured  at  Marl- 
borough  —  He  went  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Patuxent,  and  was  not  permitted  to  return  lest 
the  intended  attack  on  Baltimore  should  be 
disclosed.  He  was  therefore  brought  up  the 
Bay  to  the  mouth  of  the  Patapsco,  where  the 
flag  vessel '  was  kept  under  the  guns  of  a  frig- 
ate, and  he  was  compelled  to  witness  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  M'Henry,  which  the 
Admiral  had  boasted  that  he  would  carry  in 
a  few  hours,  and  that  the  city  must  fall.  He 
watched  the  flag  at  the  fort  through  the  whole 
day  with  an  anxiety  that  can  be  better  felt 
than  described,  until  the  night  prevented  him 
from  seeing  it.  In  the  night  he  watched  the 
Bomb  Shells,  and  at  early  dawn  his  eye  was 
again  greeted  by  the  proudly  waving  flag  of 
his  country. 

1  The  cartel,  or  flagof-truce  boat. 


198      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Tune — ANACREON  IN  HEAVEN. 

O !    say   can   you   see   by   the   dawn's   early 

light, 
What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's 

last  gleaming, 
Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars  through 

the  perilous  fight, 

O'er  the  ramparts  we  watch'd,  were  so  gal- 
lantly streaming? 

And  the  Rockets'  red  glare,  the  Bombs  burst- 
ing in  air, 
Gave  proof  through  the  night,  that  our  Flag 

was  still  there ; 
O !  say  does  that  star-spangled  Banner  yet 

wave, 

O'er  the  Land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of 
the  brave  ? 

On  the  shore  dimly  seen  through  the  mists  of 

the  deep, 

Where  the  foe's  haughty  host  in  dread  si- 
lence reposes, 

What  is  that  which  the  breeze,  o'er  the  tow- 
ering steep, 

As  it  fitfully  blows,  half  conceals,  half  dis- 
closes ? 

Now  it  catches  the  gleam  of  the  morning's 
first  beam, 

In  full  glory  reflected  now  shines  in  the  stream, 


The  National  Music  of  America.      199 

Tis  the  star-spangled  banner,  O  !  long  may 

it  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of 

the  brave. 

And  where  is  that  band  who  so  vauntingly 

swore 

That  the  havoc  of  war,  and  the  battle's  con- 
fusion, 

A  home  and  a  country  should  leave  us  no  more  ? 
Their  blood  has  washed  out  their  foul  foot- 
steps' pollution. 

No  refuge  could  save  the  hireling  and  slave, 
From  the  terror  of  flight  or  the  gloom  of  the 

grave, 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph 

doth  wave, 

O'er  the  Land  of  the  Free,  and  the  Home 
of  the  Brave. 

O !  thus  be  it  ever  when  freemen  shall  stand, 
Between  their  lov'd  homes,  and  the  war's 

desolation, 
Blest  with  vict'ry  and  peace,  may  the  Heav'n 

rescued  land, 
Praise  the  Power  that  hath  made  and  pre- 

serv'd  us  a  nation  ! 
Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is 

just, 
And  this  be  our  motto — '  In  God  is  our  Trust,' 


2OO      The  National  Music  of  America. 

And  the  star-spangled  Banner  in  triumph 

shall  wave, 
O'er  the  Land  of  the  Free,  and  the  Home 

of  the  Brave. 


We  have  shown  definitely  that  the  tune  of 
the  "  Star-spangled  Banner  "  was  well  known 
to  all  patriotic  Americans,  from  1 798 ;  we 
have  shown  that  it  had  become  customary  to 
write  patriotic  poems  to  the  tune ;  we  have 
proved  that  the  Baltimore  American,  which 
received  the  poem  almost  immediately  after 
its  completion,  stated  that  it  was  to  be  sung 
to  the  melody  of  "Anacreon  in  Heaven." 
We  may  add  that  it  would  be  almost  a  mira- 
cle for  a  poet  to  write  an  effusion  that  should 
"  accidentally  "  fit  to  the  involved  metre  and 
irregular  form  of  this  melody.  Yet  no  less 
a  person  than  Chief  Justice  Taney,  Key's 
brother-in-law,  and  a  number  of  other  care- 
less historians,  make  the  statement  that 
we  owe  the  tune  of  "The  Star-Spangled 
Banner"  to  an  actor  named  Ferdinand 


The  National  Music  of  America.      20 1 

Durang.      Here  is  a  detailed  statement  of 
this  fairy  story:1 

"The  tune  which  has  helped  so  much  to  make 
it  famous  also  had  an  interesting  selection.  Two 
brothers,  Charles  and  Ferdinand  Durang,  were  actors 
at  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre  in  Baltimore,  but 
were  also  soldiers.  A  copy  of  Francis  Key's  poem 
came  to  them  in  camp ;  it  was  read  aloud  to  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers,  among  whom  were  the  Durang 
brothers.  All  were  inspired  by  the  pathetic  elo- 
quence of  the  song,  and  Ferdinand  Durang  at  once 
put  his  wits  to  work  to  find  a  tune  for  it.  [!  !  !] 
Hunting  up  a  volume  of  flute  music  which  was  in 
one  of  the  tents,  he  impatiently  whistled  snatches  of 
tune  after  tune,  just  as  they  caught  his  quick  eye. 
One,  called  '  Anacreon  in  Heaven '  struck  his  fancy 
and  riveted  his  attention.  Note  after  note  fell  from 
his  puckered  lips,2  until,  with  a  leap  and  a  shout,  he 
exclaimed  :  '  Boys  !  I've  hit  it ! '  And  fitting  the  tune 
to  the  words,  there  rang  out  for  the  first  time  the 
song  of  '  The  Star-spangled  Banner.'  How  the  men 
shouted  and  clapped  !  for  there  never  was  a  wedding 

1  This  nonsense  is  unfortunately  repeated  in  very  many 
quarters,  as,  for  example,  Taney's  preface  to  Vol.  I.  of 
Key's  Songs,  Banks's  "  Immortal   Songs  of  Camp  and 
Field,"  John  T.  Ford  in  Baltimore  American,  etc.,  etc. 

2  It  seems  impossible  that  a  musician  should  need  to 
try  over  a  song  which  every  one  in  the  camp  had  sung 
over  and  over  with  different  words. 


2O2      The  National  Music  of  America. 

of  poetry  to  music  made  under  more  inspiring 
influences."  (Gallagher's  account,  printed  in  Harper's 
Magazine^) 

Never  was  a  bolder  or  more  fantastical  claim 
set  up  in  musical  history.  Yet  Ferdinand 
Durang  deserves  at  least  the  credit  of  being 
probably  the  first  to  sing  the  song.  An  ac- 
count published  by  the  Baltimore  American, 
Sept.  12,  1872,  contains  the  following  com- 
ments on  the  history  of  the  patriotic  hymn : 

"  The  poet,  Francis  Scott  Key,  was  too  modest  to 
announce  himself,  and  it  was  some  time  after  its  ap- 
pearance [in  the  Baltimore  American^  that  he  became 
known  as  its  author.  The  song  was  brought  to  Balti- 
more and  given  to  the  publishers  of  the  American,  by 
John  S.  Skinner,  Esq.,  who  had  been  appointed  by 
President  Madison  to  conduct  negotiations  with  the 
British  forces  relative  to  the  exchange  of  prisoners. 
In  this  way  Mr.  Skinner  chanced  to  meet  Mr.  Key 
on  the  flag-of-truce  boat,  obtained  from  him  a  copy 
of  his  song,  and  he  furnished  the  manuscript  to  the 
American  after  the  fight  was  over.  It  was  at  once 
put  in  type  and  published.  It  was  also  printed  in 
slips  and  extensively  circulated."  * 

1  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  account  makes  a  few  slight 
errors  regarding  Mr.  Skinner's  meeting  with  Mr.  Key. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      203 

In  a  paper  read  before  the  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Society,  in  1867,  Col.  John  L. 
Warner  thus  accurately  describes  the  events 
connected  with  the  first  singing  of  the  song 
to  its  present  melody,  by  Ferd.  Durang  : 

" '  The  Star-spangled  Banner '  was  first  sung  when 
fresh  from  the  press,  in  a  small  one-story  frame 
house,  long  occupied  as  a  tavern  by  the  Widow  Ber- 
ling,  next  to  the  Holliday  St.  Theatre,  but  then  kept 
by  a  Capt.  MacCauley,  a  house  where  players  '  most 
did  congregate '  to  prepare  for  the  daily  military 
drill,  every  man  being  at  that  time  a  soldier.  There 
came  also  Capt.  Benjamin  Edes,  of  the  27th  regi- 
ment, Captains  Long  and  Warner,  of  the  39th  regi- 
ment, and  Major  Frailey.  Warner  was  a  silversmith 
of  good  repute  in  the  neighbourhood.  When  a  num- 
ber of  the  young  defenders  of  the  monumental  city 
was  assembled,  Capts.  Edes  and  Warner  called  the 
group  to  order  to  listen  to  the  patriotic  song  which 
Capt.  Edes  had  just  struck  off  at  his  press.  He  then 
read  it  aloud  to  the  volunteers  assembled,  who  greeted 
each  verse  with  hearty  shouts. 

"  It  was  suggested  that  it  should  be  sung ;  but  who 
was  there  could  sing  it?  The  task  was  assigned 
to  Ferdinand  Durang,  one  of  the  group,  and  who  was 
known  to  be  a  vocalist.  The  old  air,  '  To  Anacreon 
in  Heaven]  had  been  adapted  to  it  by  the  author,  and 


2O4      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Mr.  Edes  was  desired  so  to  print  it  at  the  top  of  the 
ballad.  Its  solemn  melody  and  expressive  notes 
seem  naturally  allied  to  the  poetry,  and  speak  em- 
phatically of  the  musical  taste  and  judgment  of  Mr. 
Key.  Ferdinand  Durang  mounted  an  old  rush-bot- 
tomed chair  and  sang  this  admirable  song  for  the 
first  time  in  our  Union,  the  chorus  of  each  verse 
being  reechoed  by  those  present  with  infinite  har- 
mony of  voices.  It  was  sung  several  times  that 
morning." 

The  italics  in  the  sentence  are  our  own. 
The  above  is  probably  a  true  account  of 
the  events  connected  with  the  attaching  of 
music  to  words.  That  the  company  could 
join  in  the  chorus  was  natural,  for  the  melody 
chosen  was  by  no  means  a  stranger  to  any 
of  them,  but  that  Durang  first  thought  of 
combining  the  words  with  their  present 
melody  is  entirely  apocryphal ;  that  honour 
belongs  to  Key.1 

When  the  origin  of  the  melody  of  "The 

1  The  flag  which  caused  Mr.  Key  such  a  frenzy  of  en- 
thusiasm is  still  in  existence,  and  a  full  account  of  it  is 
given  in  Preble's  "History  of  the  Flag  of  the  United 
States,"  p.  732. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      205 

Star-spangled  Banner "  is  taken  into  consid- 
eration, many  of  its  defects  for  choral  sing- 
ing will  become  self-evident.  Its  large 
compass,  its  constant  skipping,  the  exhilarat- 
ing upward  rush  of  melody  in  its  opening 
phrase,  its  tour  de  force  (an  old  vocal  trick, 
this)  in  the  final  phrase,  are  all  admirable  ad- 
juncts of  a  good  bacchanalian  ditty,  but  tend 
to  appal  the  laity  in  a  chorus  which  calls  for 
great  masses  of  voices.  One  author1  has 
stated  that  — 

"  It  commences  on  a  key  so  low  that  all  may  join 
in  it.  It  has  unity  of  idea.  The  melodic  parts  most 
naturally  succeed  each  other,  and,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
are  logically  conjoined  and  bound  together.  It  consists 
of  solo,  duett,  and  chorus,  and  thus  in  unity  presents 
variety.  It  is  bold,  warlike,  and  majestic;  stirring 
the  profoundest  emotions  of  the  soul,  and  echoing 
through  its  deepest  chambers  something  of  the  pro- 
spective grandeur  of  a  mighty  Nation  tramping 
toward  the  loftiest  heights  of  intellectual  dominion." 

But  one  may  doubt  whether  the  English 
convivial  companions  who  sang  it  at  the 

1  Elias  Nason,  "  Our  National  Song,"  p.  49. 


206      The  National  Music  of  America. 

"Crown  and  Anchor,"  or  the  philanthropic 
Freemasons  who  warbled  it  in  their  lodge- 
rooms,  had  even  a  suspicion  of  any  such 
emotions  concealed  in  its  measures. 

Its  melody  is  by  no  means  an  ideal  one  for 
chorus  singing,  but  its  great  associations  and 
its  lofty  words  have  for  ever  endeared  it  to 
the  American  heart,  and,  until  some  native 
composer  has  given  us  a  more  practicable 
tune,  "The  Star-spangled  Banner"  will 
justly  remain  the  national  air  of  our  country, 
and  every  patriot's  breast  will  throb  respon- 
sive to  its  tones. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Sea-songs  —  Charles  Dibdin,  the  Sailor  -  poet  —  Sailor 
Music  of  America  —  "  The  Constitution  and  Guerritre" 
or  "  Hull's  Victory  "  —  A  Song  of  Samoa — "  Columbia, 
the  Gem  of  the  Ocean  "  —  Naval  Songs  of  the  Civil 
War. 

THE  war  of  1812  left  "The  Star-spangled 
Banner"  in  its  wake,  its  most  important 
musical  result ;  but  as,  with  the  exception  of 
the  defence  of  Fort  McHenry  and  the  battle 
of  New  Orleans,  the  important  victories  were 
won  upon  the  seas,  it  is  natural  to  find  much 
of  the  music  of  the  epoch  consisting  of  sailor- 
songs.  During  the  Revolution  there  had 
been  a  few  sporadic  songs  about  John 
Paul  Jones,1  the  Scottish  hero  who  had  car- 

'"The    Yankee     Man-of-war,"    and    "Paul    Jones's 
Victory,"  for  example.     See  "  Naval  Songs."     Wm.  A. 
Pond  &  Co.     Pp.  24  and  48. 
207 


208      The  National  Music  of  America. 

ried  our  flag  through  fearful  combats  in 
European  waters.  None  of  these  was  an 
American  tune,  however,  and  the  words  were 
not  characteristic  enough  to  be  enduring. 
At  about  this  time  England  possessed  the 
best  sea-songs  ever  written.  The  finest 
sailor-poet  of  the  world  was  the  Englishman, 
Charles  Dibdin,  the  eighteenth  child  of  a  poor 
silversmith  of  Southampton,  born  in  1745, 
died  1814.  Dibdin  gave  to  the  British  tar  an 
esprit  du  corps  that  could  only  have  been 
attained  by  characteristic  themes  sung  in  a 
manner  that  the  sailors  could  comprehend. 
His  "  Tom  Bowling"  (written  in  memory  of 
his  elder  brother,  captain  of  an  East  India- 
man,  twenty-nine  years  his  senior,  a  brother 
and  father  in  one)  remains  the  noblest  picture 
of  an  honest  sailor  in  the  entire  nautical 
repertoire.  Dibdin  had  the  rare  faculty,  the 
finest  attribute  of  Burns,  of  being  able  to 
idealise  the  commonplace.  Burns  was  able 
to  make  wonderful  poetry  even  about  a 


The  National  Music  of  America.      209 

Scottish  meat-pudding,  —  the  Haggis,  —  and 
sweep  from  this  up  to  the  loftiest  declara- 
tion of  human  rights  and  equality,  in  — 

"  Rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp, 
The  man's  the  gowd,  for  a'  that." 

Dibdin,  although  unable  to  scale  such 
heights,  was  entirely  adequate  to  the  idealisa- 
tion of  the  humble  surroundings  of  sailor-life. 
What  subject  could  be  more  humble  than  a 
sailor's  tobacco-box,  with  a  simple  motto 
scratched  on  it  by  his  sweetheart  ?  Yet  this 
became,  when  gilded  by  the  poet's  fancy,  the 
beautiful  song,  "  The  Token,"  with  its  refrain 

of  — 

"  If  you  loves  I  as  I  loves  you 
No  knife  shall  cut  our  loves  in  two."  r 

The  sailor  is  more  constantly  at  song  than 
the  soldier,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
the  sea-songs  of  both  America  and  England 
more  full  of  power  than  the  songs  of  the 

1  The  last  line  is  frequently  softened  into  "  No  pair  so 
happy  as  we  two." 


2IO      The  National  Music  of  America. 

land.  Yet  America  lags  far  behind  the 
mother  country  in  this  field.  Dibdin's  songs 
were  so  potent  an  influence  in  war  that,  in 
1803,  the  British  government  engaged  him 
to  write  a  series  of  songs,  "  to  keep  alive  the 
national  feelings  against  the  French,"  and 
his  biographer  adds :  "  His  engagement 
ceased  with  the  war  he  thus  assisted  in 
bringing  to  a  glorious  close."  His  songs 
were  estimated  to  be  worth  ten  thousand 
sailors  to  the  cause  of  England. 

It  was  not  unnatural,  therefore,  to  find 
America,  during  and  immediately  after  the 
Revolution,  using  the  songs  of  Charles 
Dibdin  ;  we  find  them  copied  in  many  of  the 
early  music  collections  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  during  the  last  two  decades  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  In  the  celebration 
of  the  deeds  of  our  naval  heroes  during  the 
war  of  1812,  we  still  find  the  custom  (most 
natural  in  a  nation  which  possessed  scarcely 
a  single  composer)  of  appropriating  foreign 


The  National  Music  of  America.      211 

melodies  and  setting  American  subjects  to 
them.  One  example  may  serve  to  show  the 
rough  but  effective  character  of  the  entire 
school,  —  the  song  which  celebrates  the  com- 
bat between  the  Constitutional^  the  Guerriere. 

The  captains  of  these  two  vessels  were 
acquainted  with  each  other  and  had  often 
bragged  of  their  ships  when  they  met  at  the 
London  clubs.  So  strong  had  this  rivalry 
become  that  on  one  occasion  a  wager  of  a 
new  hat  was  made  on  the  result  should  they 
ever  have  a  chance  to  sail  against  each  other. 
Now,  however,  the  merits  of  the  two  vessels 
were  to  be  tried  in  grim  earnest.  Once 
before  the  great  battle,  the  two  ships  had 
fallen  in  with  each  other,  off  the  New  Eng- 
land coast. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  July,  1812,  Captain 
Isaac  Hull,  in  command  of  the  Constitution, 
was  sailing  northward  from  Chesapeake  Bay, 
when  he  fell  in  with  a  British  vessel  which 
proved  to  be  the  Guerriere,  Captain  James 


212      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Richard  Dacres.  Hull  beat  to  quarters  and 
made  ready  for  a  fight,  but  as  the  morning 
came  on  he  descried  three  more  war-vessels 
on  the  starboard  and  three  more  astern,  while 
a  seventh  soon  hove  in  sight ;  he  had  fallen 
in  with  Captain  Broke' s  entire  squadron.1 
Thereupon  ensued  one  of  the  prettiest  chases 
of  naval  history,  lasting  sixty-four  hours,  dis- 
playing the  perfection  of  American  seaman- 
ship, beginning  in  a  dead  calm  during  which 
Captain  Hull  was  obliged  to  pull  himself 
forward  by  a  kedge-anchor,2  gaining  some- 
what on  his  pursuers  before  they  discovered 
the  trick.  He  at  last  escaped  and  put  into 
Boston  Harbour,  determined  soon  to  sally 
forth  and  again  meet  the  ship  which  had  given 
him  so  much  trouble.  The  opportunity  was 
soon  forthcoming.  Hull  remained  awhile  in 

1  A  number  of  vessels  under  one  commander,  but  less 
than  ten,  is  called  a  "  squadron ;  "  more  than  ten  is  called 
a  "  fleet." 

2  A  small  anchor  used  for  warping  a  vessel  along  by 
casting  forward  and  then  hauling  up  to  it. 


The  National  Music  of  America,      213 

harbour,  carefully  training  his  men  in  the  use 
of  chain  and  grape  shot,  and  bringing  the 
discipline  of  his  crew  to  a  high  degree  of 
perfection. 

The  Constitution  did  not  remain  long 
inactive;  Aug.  2,  1812,  she  set  sail  to  the 
northeastward,  hoping  to  meet  with  one 
of  the  English  war-vessels  which  now  lined 
the  New  England  coast.  Hull  especially 
hoped  that  he  might  fall  in  with  the  frig- 
ate that  had  caused  him  to  fly  during  the 
preceding  month.  His  wish  was  speedily 
gratified,  although  at  first  it  seemed  far 
from  fulfilment,  for  all  the  way  from  Boston 
Harbour  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy  the  Constitution 
found  no  trace  of  an  enemy,  the  British 
vessels  probably  holding  a  little  farther  off 
the  shore  than  Captain  Hull's  course.  After 
a  change  of  course  to  the  eastward  of  Nova 
Scotia  and  along  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence, 
the  Constitution  was  put  about  and  turned 
southward  again. 


214      The  National  Music  of  America. 

On  this  course  Hull  was  soon  rewarded  by 
the  sight  of  a  sail,  which  proved  to  be  the 
very  frigate  he  was  seeking,  and  she,  too, 
appeared  nothing  loath  for  a  fight.  Hull 
cleared  decks  for  action,  beat  to  quarters, 
hoisted  the  American  flag,  and  at  once  bore 
down  on  the  enemy,  his  intention  being  to 
come  to  close  quarters  immediately.  Dacres 
hoisted  three  British  flags,  one  at  each  mast- 
head. The  old  song  "Halifax  Station" 
runs: 

"  Then  up  to  each  masthead  he  straight  sent  a  flag, 
Which  shows  on  the  ocean  a  proud  British  brag ; 
But  Hull,  being  pleasant,  he  sent  up  but  one, 
And  told  every  man  to  stand  true  to  his  gun." 

The  Guerrtire  had  begun  firing  almost 
from  the  moment  that  the  vessels  sighted 
each  other ;  Hull  replied  with  a  few  shots 
only,  to  try  the  range,  and  then  gave  com- 
mand to  cease  firing  for  the  time  being. 
A  couple  of  broadsides  from  the  English- 
man, given  on  two  tacks,  fell  short.  Now 


The  National  Music  of  America.      215 

followed  considerable  manoeuvring  to  get 
in  a  position  to  deliver  a  raking  broadside. 
Hull  had  ordered  his  men  to  load  carefully 
with  grape. 

At  last  a  British  shot  struck  the  bulwarks, 
killing  two  sailors  and  wounding  several. 
Lieutenant  Morris  ran  at  once  to  report, 
but  to  his  eager  question,  "  Shall  we  return 
the  fire?"  Hull  replied,  calmly,  "Not  yet, 
sir."  Finally,  the  Constitution  was  about 
forty  yards  to  starboard  of  the  Guerriere, 
and  in  a  position  to  deliver  a  telling 
broadside.  At  once  Hull  threw  aside  his 
calm  manner,  and  yelled,  "  Now,  boys, 
pour  it  into  them ! "  That  his  calmness 
had  been  assumed  and  that  his  enthusiasm 
was  now  unbounded,  may  be  proved  by  a 
very  odd  incident.  Hull  was  a  stout  man, 
and  he  had  dressed  himself  in  the  fashion- 
able tight  breeches  of  the  period;  as 
he  shouted  his  command,  he  bent  twice, 
almost  to  the  deck,  in  intense  excitement ; 


2 1 6      The  National  Music  of  America. 

when  the  smoke  cleared  away,  it  was  seen 
that  in  his  energetic  antics  the  captain  had 
split  his  beautiful  new  breeches  from  waist 
to  knee ;  but  he  did  not  stop  to  change 
them  during  the  combat  which  followed.1 
Another,  less  humorous  sight  was  afforded, 
when  the  smoke  of  the  broadside  lifted ; 
the  deck  of  the  Guerriere  was  strewn  with 
dead  and  dying;  in  a  few  moments  the 
mainyard  came  toppling  down,  and  the  miz- 
zenmast  soon  followed.  "  Hurrah,  boys," 
shouted  Hull,  "  we've  made  a  brig  of  her ! " 
The  Guerriere  brought  up  in  the  wind  as 
the  mizzenmast  gave  way,  and  the  Consti- 
tution bore  slowly  ahead,  pouring  in  a  tre- 
mendous fire,  and  luffing  short  around  the 
bow  of  the  Englishman,  to  avoid  being  raked 
in  return ;  in  doing  this,  however,  she  fell 
foul  of  the  Guerriere,  her  bowsprit  running 
into  the  port  quarter  of  her  enemy. 

1  Statement  of  Lieut.  B.  V.  Hoffman,  quoted  in  Los- 
sing's  "  Pictorial  Field-book  of  the  War  of  1812,"  p.  443. 


The  National  Music  of  America,      2 1 7 

It  was  a  good  chance  for  boarding  parties 
(except  that  there  was  a  heavy  sea  on),  but 
Hull,  with  his  usual  prudence,  had  stationed 
sharpshooters  in  the  tops  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  these  emphatically  discouraged  any 
gatherings  of  this  kind,  by  shooting  down 
any  who  seemed  disposed  to  head  them. 
Yankee  ingenuity  was  displayed  even  in 
this,  for,  as  in  the  days  of  muzzle-loaders  it 
took  a  considerable  time  to  recharge  a  gun 
after  firing,  the  men  in  the  tops  lay  in 
clumps  of  seven,  six  constantly  reloading 
the  discharged  weapons,  and  the  best  marks- 
man seizing  gun  after  gun,  ready  to  his 
hand,  and  making  every  shot  tell. 

While  the  vessels  were  thus  afoul  of  each 
other,  the  forward  guns  of  the  Guerriere  ex- 
ploded, setting  fire  to  the  cabin  of  the  Consti- 
tution, but  the  flames  were  soon  controlled. 

Now  occurred  one  of  the  most  dare-devil 
deeds  of  the  whole  heroic  action ;  a  stray 
shot  had  brought  down  the  American  flag, 


2 1 8      The  National  Music  of  America. 

whereupon  a  young  Irishman,  named  John 
Hogan,  seized  it  in  his  teeth,  climbed  to 
the  masthead  amid  a  shower  of  bullets, 
lashed  it  there,  and  came  down,  quite 
unharmed.  Congress  afterward  awarded 
him  a  pension  for  the  bold  deed. 

One  final  attempt  was  made  to  board, 
on  both  sides,  and,  of  the  three  leaders  on 
the  American  side,  Lieutenant  Morris 
(Hull's  second  in  command)  and  Master 
Alwyn  were  seriously  wounded,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Bush,  of  the  marines,  killed.  Just  at 
this  moment  the  sails  of  the  Constitution  filled 
and  she  pushed  ahead  clear  of  her  foe,  while 
the  mainmast  of  the  Gtterriere  came  thunder- 
ing down,  leaving  her  a  hopeless  wreck. 

The  Constitution  now  drew  off,  knowing 
that  her  enemy  could  not  escape,  but  took 
a  position  across  the  bow  of  the  Guerriere, 
whence  she  could  rake  her.1  Hull's  pru- 

1  The  battle  began  a  little  after  6  P.M.,  and  lasted 
about  forty  minutes. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      2 19 

dence  was  never  better  displayed  than  in 
not  forcing  a  surrender  at  once.  He  feared 
that  there  might  be  some  consort  of  the 
Guerriere  near  by,  which  might  come  up, 
attracted  by  the  firing;  he  had  had  one 
such  experience  the  month  before,  and  he 
was  not  in  a  condition  to  show  a  clean  pair 
of  heels,  as  on  that  occasion.  He  therefore 
leisurely  took  his  time  to  clean  up  his  ship, 
and  only  when  he  was  ready  to  fight  another 
battle,  if  necessary,  with  another  foe,  did 
he  send  his  third  lieutenant,  George  C. 
Read  (afterward  a  commodore),  to  demand 
the  surrender  of  the  Guerriere.  A  jack 
that  had  been  flying  on  the  stump  of  the 
mizzenmast  was  lowered,  but  Lieutenant 
Read  desired  to  make  quite  sure  of  matters ; 
he  therefore  said,  "  Commodore  Hull's  com- 
pliments, and  he  wishes  to  know  if  you  have 
struck  your  flag  ? " 

Poor  and  gallant  Dacres !     It  was  a  bitter 
moment   to   one   of    the   most    courageous 


22O      The  National  Music  of  America. 

and  chivalric  of  men  ;  he  had  been 
wounded  in  the  contest,  and  was  sore  at 
heart,  but  he  dryly  replied,  "  Well,  I  don't 
know;  our  mizzenmast  is  gone,  our  main- 
mast is  gone,  and,  upon  the  whole,  you  may 
say  we  have  struck  our  flag !  "  Read  then 
said,  "Commodore  Hull's  compliments,  and 
wishes  to  know  whether  you  need  the  assist- 
ance of  a  surgeon  or  surgeon's  mate  ? " 
Dacres  replied,  "Well,  I  should  suppose 
that  you  had  business  enough  on  board  your 
own  ship  for  all  your  medical  officers !  " 
Read  then  gasconaded  a  little.  "  Oh,  no ! 
we  have  only  seven  wounded,  and  they  were 
dressed  half  an  hour  ago." '  He  did  not 
mention  the  seven  killed.  But  against  the 
American  loss  of  seven  killed  and  seven 
wounded,  one  must  place  the  British  loss 
of  fifteen  killed  and  sixty-three  wounded. 

1  This  is  upon  the  statement  of  Capt.  Wm.  B.  Orne, 
who  was  a  prisoner  on  the  Guerritre  during  the  action. 
Lossing's  "  Field-book,"  p.  444. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      221 

Dacres  then  went  on  board  of  the  Con- 
stitution and  offered  his  sword  to  Captain 
Hull,  but  the  American  cried,  "  No,  no ; 
I'll  not  take  a  sword  from  a  man  who  knows 
so  well  how  to  use  it ;  but  /'//  trouble  you 
for  that  hat!"  —  remembering  the  wager 
made  in  London  long  before. 

It  was  a  battle  of  which  both  sides  had 
reason  to  be  proud.  Dacres  and  his  men 
had  shown  a  courage  that  was  so  tenacious 
that,  after  the  battle,  it  was  found  that  the  hull 
could  not  be  saved,  and  the  Guerriere,  once 
called  "The  Terror  of  the  Sea,"  was  blown 
up.  At  the  court  martial  of  Captain  Dacres, 
for  surrendering  his  ship,  which  took  place 
at  Halifax  a  little  later,  he  was  unanimously 
acquitted,  and  he  subsequently  became  a 
a  vice-admiral,  as  his  father  had  been  before 
him.  In  his  report  of  the  action,  made  to 
Vice- Admiral  Sawyer,  Sept.  7,  1812,  Da- 
cres generously  says  :  "  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  state  that  the  conduct  of  Captain  Hull 


222      The  National  Music  of  America. 

and  his  officers  to  our  men  has  been  that 
of  a  brave  enemy,  the  greatest  care  being 
taken  to  prevent  our  men  from  losing  the 
smallest  trifle,  and  the  greatest  attention 
being  paid  to  the  wounded." 

It  was  customary  in  those  days  for  the 
English  commanders  to  send  an  occasional 
challenge  to  the  American  foe.  In  this 
matter,  too,  Captain  Dacres  was  never  very 
vindictive.  Here  is  a  challenge  from  Sir 
James  Yeo,  commanding  the  English  frigate 
Southampton : 

"  Sir  James  Yeo  presents  his  compliments  to  Capt 
Porter  of  the  American  frigate  Essex,  and  would  be 
glad  to  have  a  t£te-a-tete  anywhere  between  the  Capes 
of  Delaware  and  the  Havana,  where  he  would  have 
the  pleasure  to  break  his  own  sword  over  his  damned 
head,  and  put  him  down  forward  in  irons." 

Not  so  a  man  of  Dacres's  stamp  ;  he  cap- 
tured Capt.  W.  B.  Orne,  of  the  American 
brig  Betsy,  and  treated  him  with  the  great- 
est courtesy.  He  sent  a  challenge  to  an 


The  National  Music  of  America.      223 

American   which  is  in  strong  contrast  with 
the  one  quoted  above  : 

"  Capt.  Dacres,  commander  of  H.  B.  M.  frigate 
Guerriere,  of  44  guns,  presents  his  compliments  to 
Commodore  Rodgers  of  the  U.  S.  frigate  President, 
and  will  be  very  happy  to  meet  him,  or  any  American 
frigate  of  equal  force  to  the  President,  off  Sandy 
Hook,  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  few  minutes  tete- 
ci-tete." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  wild 
enthusiasm  which  followed  the  return  of  the 
Constitution  to  Boston  Harbour.  "  Old  Iron- 
sides," as  she  was  afterward  called,  in  allu- 
sion to  the  strength  of  her  build,  was  at  once 
celebrated  in  song  and  story. 

The  song  which  we  give  in  connection 
with  this  incident  is  a  fair  example  of  the 
rough  and  ready  style  of  its  epoch.  It  is  an 
old  English  melody  called  "The  Landlady's 
Daughter  of  France,"  and  it  tells  of  the 
battle  with  a  fair  amount  of  detail.  It  is 
known  to  some  as  "The  Constitution  and 
Guerriere"  and  to  others  as  "  Hull's  Vic- 


224      The  National  Music  of  America, 

tory."     It  is  a  "spirited"  song  in  two  senses 
of  the  word. 


CONSTITUTION    AND   GUERRlERE. 

« 


2- 


KQ)  "  4- 


It    oft  times  has    been  told,  That    the 


Brit-ish  seamen  bold  Could  flog  the  tars  of 


France  so    neat  and  han  -  dy,     oh  !  But  they 


t — r~=£ 

-u       t/ ^- 


'-• 


nev    -  er    found   their  match,  Till       the 


fe 


^ 


-N 


~^- 

Yan  -  kees     did     them  catch ;     Oh,     the 
H 

A— * 


Yankee  boys  for  fighting  are  the  dan-dy,    oh  ! 


The  Guerriere  a  frigate  bold, 
On  the  foaming  ocean  rolled, 
Commanded  by  proud  Dacres,  the  grandee,  oh  I 


The  National  Music  of  America.      225 

With  as  choice  a  British  crew, 
As  a  rammer  ever  drew, 
Could  flog  the  Frenchmen  two  to  one  so  handy,  oh  1 


When  this  frigate  hove  in  view, 

Says  proud  Dacres  to  his  crew, 
"  Come  clear  the  decks  for  action  and  be  handy,  oh ! 

To  the  weather  gage,  boys,  get  her," 

And  to  make  his  men  fight  better, 
Gave  them  to  drink  gunpowder  mixed  with  brandy,  oh  I 

Then  Dacres  loudly  cries, 

"  Make  this  Yankee  ship  your  prize, 
You  can  in  thirty  minutes,  neat  and  handy,  oh  I 

Twenty-five's  enough  I'm  sure, 

And  if  you'll  do  it  in  a  score, 
I'll  treat  you  to  a  double  share  of  brandy,  oh  I " 

The  British  shot  flew  hot, 

Which  the  Yankees  answered  not, 

Till  they  got  within  the  distance  they  called  handy,  oh  ! 
"  Now,"  says  Hull  unto  his  crew, 
"  Boys,  let's  see  what  we  can  do, 

If  we  take  this  boasting  Briton  we're  the  dandy,"  oh ! 

The  first  broadside  we  pour'd 

Carried  her  mainmast  by  the  board, 
Which  made  this  lofty  frigate  look  abandoned,  oh  ! 

Then  Dacres  shook  his  head, 

And  to  his  officers  said, 
"  Lord !  I  didn't  think  those  Yankees  were  so  handy,"  oh  ! 


226      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Our  second  told  so  well 

That  their  fore  and  mizzen  fell, 
Which  dous'd  the  Royal  ensign  neat  and  handy,  oh  1 

"  By  George,"  cries  he,  "  we're  done," 

And  they  fired  a  lee  gun, 
While  the  Yankees  struck  up  Yankee  Doodle  Dandy,  oh! 

Then  Dacres  came  on  board, 

To  deliver  up  his  sword, 
Tho'  loth  was  he  to  part  with  it,  'twas  handy,  oh  I 

"  Oh  !  then  keep  your  sword,"  says  Hull, 

"  For  it  only  makes  you  dull, 
Cheer  up,  and  let  us  have  a  little  brandy,  oh  I " 

Now,  fill  your  glasses  full, 

And  we'll  drink  to  Captain  Hull, 

And  so  merrily  we'll  push  about  the  brandy,  oh  I 
John  Bull  may  boast  his  fill, 
And  the  world  say  what  they  will, 

The  Yankee  boys  for  fighting  are  the  dandy,  oh! 

Other  songs  of  this  exciting  epoch  are 
"The  Hornet;  or  Victory  No.  5,"  "The 
United  States  and  the  Macedonian,"  "The 
Enterprise  and  the  Boxer,"  etc.  They  are 
all  of  the  uncouth  but  trenchant  character  of 
the  example  cited. 

Next  in  chronological  order,  in  the  list  of 
sea-songs  of  our  nation,  comes  a  familiar 


The  National  Music  of  America.      227 

song  about  which  there  has  been,  and  still  is, 
considerable  litigation.  It  is  sometimes 
called  "Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean," 
and  often  "  The  Red,  White,  and  Blue."  In 
an  edition  published  in  Baltimore,  in  1853,  it 
is  called  "  Columbia,  the  Land  of  the  Brave." 
In  England  it  is  known  as  "Britannia,  the 
Pride  of  the  Ocean,"  and  the  name  of  Nelson 
replaces  that  of  Washington. 

Paul  Ward,  Esq.,  writes,  in  "Notes  and 
Queries"  of  July,  1870: 

"  When  in  America  I  made  inquiries  regarding 
the  author  of  this  song.  My  reason  for  making  these 
inquiries  was  that,  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  years 
ago,  I  first  heard,  in  'the  Old  Country,'  this  same 
song  sung  in  our  streets,  but  somewhat  varied.  The 
British  song  sang  thus : 

" '  Britannia,  the  Pride  of  the  Ocean, 

The  home  of  the  Brave  and  the  Free, 
The  shrine  of  each  sailor's  devotion, 
What  land  can  compare  unto  thee  ! ' 

ft  is  quite  clear  that  one  version  must  be  taken  from 
the  other,  for  each  is  appropriate  only  to  the  eastern 
or  western  side  of  the  Atlantic." 


228      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Therefore  the  question  arises,  has  America 
plagiarised  a  foreign  subject  ?  The  author 
has  been  unable  to  trace  the  melody  to  its 
beginning  in  England,  but  is  assured  by 
several  English  friends  of  ripe  years  that 
they  have  been  familiar  with  the  melody 
for  about  half  a  century.  It  is,  therefore, 
possible  that  the  tune  is  an  English  one. 
Nason,  in  "Our  National  Song"  (p.  55), 
speaks  of  it  as  "set  to  the  English  tune  of 
'The  Red,  White,  and  Blue.'  " 

One  cannot  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
"The  Gem  of  the  Ocean"  is  a  very  odd 
metaphor  to  apply  to  a  continent  over  three 
thousand  miles  broad,  and  bounded  by  land 
on  two  of  its  sides,  and  a  very  apt  appella- 
tion to  bestow  upon  an  island  kingdom  such 
as  Great  Britain  is  ;  and  Rear- Admiral  Preble 
points  out  also  that  "The  Red,  White,  and 
Blue"  is  a  misnomer  when  applied  to  our 
flag,  for  the  ranking  order  of  our  colours  is 
first,  blue  (the  blue  of  the  union,  the  firma- 


The  National  Music  of  America.      229 

ment  of  our  constellation  of  stars),  then  red, 
and  lastly  white,  —  the  "  Blue,  Red,  and 
White,"  in  short,  —  while  Great  Britain's 
flag  (spite  of  the  sanguinary  name  which 
its  sailors  bestow  upon  it),  is  properly, 
in  ranking  order,  "  The  Red,  White,  and 
Blue." 

But  this  is  not  all,  nor  even  the  chief  con- 
troversy, about  this  hazy  song.  Many  edi- 
tions give  it  as  the  work  of  "  David  T. 
Shaw,"  but  it  would  seem,  at  least  as  re- 
gards its  American  words,  to  be  the  produc- 
tion of  Thomas  a  Becket  (an  Englishman, 
once  resident  in  Philadelphia),  who  states 
his  claims  and  wrongs  as  follows  :  * 

"  In  the  fall  of  the  year  1843,  being  then  engaged 
as  an  actor  at  the  Chestnut  St.  Theatre  in  this  city 
[Philadelphia],  I  was  waited  upon  by  Mr.  D.  T.  Shaw 
(then  singing  at  the  Chinese  Museum)  with  the  re- 
quest that  I  would  write  him  a  song  for  his  benefit 

'Letter  dated  Philadelphia,  Dec.  16,  1876,  written  to 
Rear- Admiral  Preble,  quoted  in  "  History  of  the  Flag," 
P-  755- 


230      The  National  Music  of  America. 

night.  He  produced  some  patriotic  lines,  and  asked 
my  opinion  of  them ;  I  found  them  ungrammatical, 
and  so  deficient  in  measure  as  to  be  totally  unfit  to 
be  adapted  to  music.  We  adjourned  to  the  house  of 
a  friend  (Mr.  R.  Harford,  Decatur  St.),  and  I  there 
wrote  the  two  first  verses  in  pencil,  and  at  Miss  Har- 
ford's  piano  I  composed  the  melody.  On  reaching 
my  home,  I  added  the  third  verse,  wrote  the  sym- 
phonies and  arrangements,  made  a  fair  copy  in  ink 
and  gave  it  to  Mr.  Shaw,  requesting  him  not  to  give 
or  sell  a  copy.  A  few  weeks  afterward  I  left  for 
New  Orleans,  and  was  much  surprised  to  see  a  pub- 
lished copy,  entitled  '  Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the 
Ocean,  written,  composed,  and  sung  by  David  T. 
Shaw,  and  arranged  by  T.  a  Becket,  Esq.'  On  my 
return  to  Philadelphia  I  waited  on  Mr.  Willig,  the 
publisher,  who  told  me  that  he  had  purchased  the 
song  from  Mr.  Shaw.  I  produced  the  original  copy 
in  pencil,  and  claimed  the  copyright,  which  Mr.  Willig 
admitted,  making  some  severe  remarks  upon  Shaw's 
conduct  in  the  affair.  I  then  made  an  arrangement 
with  Mr.  T.  Osborn,  of  Third  St.  above  Walnut,  to 
publish  the  song  in  partnership ;  and  within  a  week 
it  appeared  under  its  proper  title,  viz.,  '  Columbia,  the 
Gem  of  the  Ocean,  written  and  composed  by  T.  a 
Becket,  and  sung  by  D.  T.  Shaw.'  Mr.  E.  L. 
Davenport,  the  eminent  actor,  sung  the  song  nightly 
in  London  for  some  weeks ;  it  became  very  popular 
and  was  published  (without  authority)  by  T.  Wil- 
liams, Cheapside,  under  the  title  '  Brittannia,  the 


The  National  Music  of  America.      231 

Gem,'  etc.  I  visited  London  in  1847,  and  found  the 
song  claimed  as  an  English  composition.  (Perhaps 
it  is,  I  being  an  Englishman  by  birth.)  During  my 
absence  from  the  land  of  my  adoption,  Osborn  failed 
in  business,  and  the  plates  of  my  song  were  sold  to 
Mr.  Benteen,  of  Baltimore.  Thus  it  went  out  of  my 
possession,  much  to  my  regret  and  loss. 
"  I  am  sir, 

"  Respectfully  yours,  etc. 

"  THOS.  A  BECKET,  SR. 
"  To  Rear-Admiral  Preble,  U.  S.  N." 

It  may  be  added  that  Messrs.  Lee  & 
Walker,  of  Philadelphia,  the  successors  of 
the  Mr.  Willig  mentioned  above,  published 
a  later  edition,  of  which  the  title-page  reads 
"  Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean ;  ar- 
ranged by  T.  a  Becket,  Esq."  In  one  Eng- 
lish edition  (1866)  the  song  is  credited  to 
D.  T.  Shaw,  U.  S.  A. 

Thus  "The  Red,  White,  and  Blue"  fol- 
lows the  example  of  many  national  songs  in 
burying  its  origin  in  claims  and  counter- 
claims. It  is  sometimes  known  as  the 
"Army  and  Navy  Song"  because  it  sings 


232      The  National  Music  of  America. 

the  praises  of  both  branches  of  the  ser- 
vice, and  is  eminently  fitted  for  occa- 
sions where  both  are  celebrating  martial 
events. 

Naturally  the  Civil  War  in  America 
brought  forth  some  additions  to  the  reper- 
toire of  sea-songs.  There  was  heroism 
enough  displayed  on  both  sides,  in  naval 
encounters,  but  as  the  South  possessed 
but  few  vessels  and  scarcely  any  facilities 
for  equipping  a  navy,  the  preponderance  of 
naval  history  belongs  to  the  Union  side. 
The  songs  in  this  field  crystallise  around  the 
names  of  Farragut  and  Winslow  on  the  one 
side,  and  Semmes  on  the  other. 

We  present  herewith  a  specimen  of  the 
naval  songs  of  the  South.  Its  full  title 
reads  "The  Alabama.  Respectfully  dedi- 
cated to  the  gallant  Captain  Semmes,  his 
officers  and  Crew,  and  to  the  officers  and 
seamen  of  the  C.  S.  Navy,  by  E.  King, 
author  of  the  Naval  Songs  of  the  South." 


The  National  Music  of  America.      233 
THE    ALABAMA. 


Poetry  by  E.  KING. 


Music  by  F.  W.  ROSIER. 


The  wind  blows  off     yon    rock  -  y    shore, 


i 

p          C         1 

i 

x  \> 

I 

J 

_j 

n 

r 

i^       ^f 

ffn 

J 

• 

» 

*•       J 

VsJ 

r 

Boys !  set   your  sails     all       free ;        And 


soon  the  boom  -  ing    can    -  non's  roar  Shall 


HW 


ring  out     mer-ri  -  ly.      Run    up  your  bun  ting 


*MJ-r-HiJ  J^ 


taught  apeak,Andswear,lads,todef  end  her; 'Gainst 


ev   -   'ry    foe,   where -e'er    we    go,    Our 


ry    loe,   wner 


& 


^ 


mot-  to        "No       Sur-ren    -    der!" 
CHORUS. 


0f  i  r^ 


Then  sling  the  bowl,drink  ev  -  'ry    soul,    A 


234      The  National  Music  of  America. 


toast     to    the    A   -  la  -   ba    -    ma;    What- 

K 


IE 


e'er    our    lot, through  storm  or  shot,Here's  sue  - 


cess     to    the    A    -    la    -    ba    -    ma! 


Our  country  calls  all  hands  to  arms, 

We  hear  but  to  obey; 
Nor  shall  home's  most  endearing  charms 

Steal  one  weak  thought  away. 
Our  saucy  craft  shall  roam  the  deep, 

We've  sworn,  lads,  to  defend  her ; 
Trim,  taught  and  tight,  we'll  brave  the  fight, 

Our  motto  "  No  Surrender !  " 

Then  sling  the  bowl,  etc. 

Our  home  is  on  the  mountain  wave, 

Our  flag  floats  proudly  free  ; 
No  boasting  despot,  tyrant,  knave, 

Shall  crush  fair  Liberty. 
Firmly  we'll  aid  her  glorious  cause, 

We'll  die,  boys,  to  defend  her  ; 
We'll  brave  the  foe,  where'er  we  go, 

Our  motto  "  No  Surrender  ! " 

Then  sling  the  bowl,  etc. 

Boys  I  if  perchance  it  may  befall, 
When  storm  of  battle  raves, 


The  National  Music  of  America.      235 

By  shot  or  shell  our  noble  hull 

Shall  sink  beneath  the  waves, 
Yet  while  a  plank  to  us  is  left 

To  death  we  will  defend  her ; 
Facing  the  foe,  down,  down  we'll  go, 

But  still  cry  "  No  Surrender !  " 

Then  sling  the  bowl,  etc. 

There  was  something  of  prescience  in  the 
last  verse,  and  the  subsequent  battle  between 
the  Kearsarge  and  the  Alabama  was  cele- 
brated in  more  than  one  song.  There  is  a 
sailor's  ditty  regarding  this  fight,  which  has 
something  of  the  bold  swing  of  the  music  of 
1812,  the  words  telling  the  story  in  much 
the  same  manner  that  the  tale  of  Hull's  vic- 
tory is  related,  as  a  couple  of  the  verses  may 
show. 

"  It  was  early  Sunday  morning  in  the  year  of  sixty- 
four, 

The  Alabama  she  steamed  out  along  the  French- 
man's shore, 

Long  time  she  cruised  about,  long  time  she  held  her 
sway. 

But  now  beneath  the  Frenchman's  shore,  she  lies  off 
Cherbourg  Bay. 


236      The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  A  challenge  unto  Captain  Semmes  bold  Winslow  he 
did  send ; 

'  Bring  on  your  Alabama  and  to  her  we  will  attend, 

For  we  think  your  boasting  privateer  is  not  so  hard 
to  whip, 

And  we'll  show  you  that  the  Kearsarge  is  not  a  mer- 
chant ship." 

In  the  recent  conflict  with  Spain  it  was 
clearly  shown  that  both  sections  of  the 
country,  North  as  well  as  South,  had  lost 
none  of  their  naval  prowess,  but  the  conflict 
was  too  short  to  give  rise  to  any  of  that 
music  which  generally  follows  naval  victories. 

As  a  pendant  to  the  above  pictures  of 
martial  heroism  we  may  cite  an  example 
of  an  American  deed  of  generosity  and 
courage  upon  the  sea,  in  time  of  peace. 

On  Friday,  March  15,  1889,  the  war- 
vessels  of  three  nations  were  gathered  to- 
gether in  the  harbour  of  Apia,  the  capital  of 
Samoa.  England,  Germany,  and  the  United 
States  were  inaugurating  a  protectorate  over 
the  kingdom  ;  England  had  sent  the  Calliope 


The  National  Music  of  A  merica.      237 

under  command  of  Captain  Kane,  Germany 
the  Adler,  the  Olga,  and  the  Eber,  and  the 
United  States  was  represented  by  the  Tren- 
ton, the  Nipsic,  and  the  Vandalia,  On  the 
fatal  day  just  mentioned  a  most  fearful  hurri- 
cane swept  down  upon  the  squadrons ;  all 
the  ships  were  caught  upon  a  lee  shore,  and, 
as  their  anchors  could  not  hold  against  the 
fury  of  the  tempest,  they  all  seemed  doomed 
to  destruction.  The  Eber  soon  drove  on  a 
dangerous  reef  and  was  a  total  loss ;  the 
Adler  was  on  another  reef,  overturned  com- 
pletely; the  Nipsic  had  driven  ashore  and 
her  men  were  drowning.  Most  nobly  did  the 
Samoans  labour  to  save  the  perishing ;  all 
accounts  of  the  dreadful  event  unite  in  prais- 
ing their  self-sacrifice  and  bravery. 

Now  came  the  crowning  deed  of  the  day ; 
the  Trenton  had  begun  to  drag  her  anchors 
and  bore  down  slowly  upon  the  Calliope ;  in 
a  few  moments  the  'ships  would  be  grind- 
ing against  each  other,  and  both  would  be 


238      The  National  Music  of  America. 

lost.  The  English  Captain  Kane  now  deter- 
mined upon  a  bold  stroke  of  seamanship ;  he 
slipped  his  cable,  let  his  anchors  go,  and 
determined  to  try  and  force  his  way  to  sea 
in  the  teeth  of  the  hurricane.  It  was  a 
moment  of  dire  suspense ;  if  the  engines 
were  not  powerful  enough,  the  ship  with  all 
on  board  was  lost.  For  a  moment  she  went 
backward,  forced  by  the  elements ;  then, 
very  slowly,  inch  by  inch,  foot  by  foot,  but 
with  gradually  increasing  speed,  the  Calliope 
pushed  out  to  the  open  sea  and  safety.  The 
American  and  English  vessels  were  side  by 
side  when  Kane's  bold  effort  began,  and 
when  the  American  sailors  saw  the  Calliope 
going  forth  to  life,  while  they  felt  that  they 
were  doomed  to  death,  they  manned  the 
sides  and  gave  three  rousing  cheers  for  the 

English  captain  and  crew,  and  then  added 

•< 

three  cheers  for  the  American  flag.  It  was 
the  noblest  " Morituri  Salutamus"  of  his- 
tory !  One  is  glad  to  add,  however,  that 


The  National  Music  of  America.      239 

almost  all  of  these  brave  men  were  eventu- 
ally saved,  although  there  seemed  to  be  not 
the  slightest  chance  of  escape  at  the  time  of 
their  cheering  the  Englishmen. 

This  noble  deed  of  peace  deserves  as  high 
a  niche  in  history  as  the  triumphs  of  war. 
Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  an  American  news- 
paper,—  The  Scranton  Truth?  —  a  song,  en- 
titled "The  Banner  of  the  Sea,"  has  been 
written  by  Homer  Greene,  and  set  to  music 
by  Fr.  H.  G.  Ganss.  One  can  cordially 
reecho  its  opening  sentiment : 

"  By  wind  and  wave  the  sailor  brave 
Has  fared  to  shores  of  every  sea ; 

1  Scranton  Truth  offered  a  prize,  very  soon  after  the 
news  of  the  event  reached  the  United  States,  for  a  poem 
to  fittingly  celebrate  it.  John  Boyle  O'Reilly  was  the 
judge,  and  commended  the  verses  of  Mr.  Greene  for 
the  award.  Harrison  Millard  was  the  judge  of  the 
musical  settings  and  awarded  the  prize,  as  above  inti- 
mated, to  the  Rev.  Fr.  H.  G.  Ganss.  It  is  seldom  that  a 
prize  contest  brings  forth  so  good  a  result.  During  the 
Civil  War  the  offer  of  a  large  prize  for  a  national  hymn 
was  barren  of  all  result 


240       The  National  Music  of  America. 

But  never  yet  have  seamen  met 

Or  dared  grim  Death  for  victory 
In  braver  mood  than  they  who  died 
On  drifting  decks  in  Apia's  tide 
While  cheering  every  sailor's  pride 
The  banner  of  the  Free." 

Spite  of  the  many  deeds  of  bravery  which 
can  be  credited  to  the  United  States  Navy, 
it  is  only  in  recent  years  that  our  country  has 
taken  any  rank  among  the  maritime  powers 
of  the  world.  The  war  with  Spain  came  as 
a  revelation  of  the  strength  of  a  naval  force 
but  recently  called  into  being.  With  the 
constant  growth  of  this  branch  of  the  ser- 
vice, which  is  bound  to  follow,  we  may  hope 
soon  to  possess  a  song  of  the  sea  that  may 
equal  the  power  of  "  Rule  Britannia." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Songs  of  the  Civil  War  —  Additions  to  "  The  Star- 
spangled  Banner  "  —  The  Confederate  Flag  —  "  Dixie," 
and  Its  Northern  Origin  —  Plagiarisms  of  War  Music 
—  War-song  Composers  of  the  North  —  Prize  Offered 
for  a  National  Hymn  —  "  John  Brown's  Body  "  — 
Julia  Ward  Howe's  Verses  —  Power  of  Home-music 
during  the  War  —  Prohibition  of  Tunes. 

AT  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  before 
the  song-writers  of  the  North  had  given 
many  popular  songs  to  the  people,  "The 
Star-spangled  Banner "  was  sung  with  more 
than  ordinary  pertinacity  and  fervour ;  but  it 
was  soon  discovered  that  there  was  no  refer- 
ence made  in  that  song  to  any  emergency  like 
that  which  arose  in  1861.  Many  were  the 
efforts  to  remedy  this  omission,  the  best  of 
them  being  the  stanza  printed  in  the  Boston 
Transcript,  and  written  by  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes.  The  added  stanza  ran  as  follows  : 
241 


242      The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  When  our  land  is  illumined  with  Liberty's  smile, 
If  a  foe  from  within  strike  a  blow  at  her  glory, 
Down,  down  with  the  traitor  who  dares  to  defile 
The  Flag  of  her  stars  and  the  page  of  her  story ! 
By  the  millions  unchained 
Who  their  birthright  have  gained 
We  will  keep  her  bright  blazon  for  ever  unstained. 
And  the  Star-spangled  Banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
While  the  land  of  the  Free  is  the  home  of  the  brave." 

At  the  outset  the  South,  too,  hoped  to 
use  "  The  Star-spangled  Banner "  both  as 
her  hymn  and  her  flag.  The  song  had  been 
written  by  a  Southerner,1  and  the  flag  itself 
belonged  as  much  to  the  Southern  as  to  the 
Northern  States.  Some  new  versions  of  the 
famous  song  were  written  in  the  Confederacy, 
and  there  were  not  a  few  Southerners  who 
desired  to  claim  the  United  States  flag  as 
their  own,  leaving  to  the  North  the  task  of 
selecting  a  new  banner.2 

The  committee  appointed  to  consider  the 

1  Key's  descendants,  however,  refused  to  sing  his  song, 
as  belonging  to  their  Northern  enemies. 

2  See  North  American  Review,  November,  1879,  P-  4^6. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      243 

subject  of  a  new  flag  for  the  Confederate 
States  (Messrs.  Miles  of  South  Carolina, 
Morton  of  Florida,  Shorter  of  Alabama, 
Barton  of  Georgia,  Sparrow  of  Louisiana, 
and  Harris  of  Mississippi)  was  not  a  unit 
on  the  matter  of  discarding  the  old  flag,  as 
witness  this  excerpt  from  their  report : 

"  Whatever  attachment  may  be  felt,  from  associa- 
tion, for  the  Stars  and  Stripes  (an  attachment  which 
your  committee  may  be  permitted  to  say  they  do  not 
all  share),  it  is  manifest  that,  in  inaugurating  a  new 
government,  we  cannot  retain  the  flag  of  the  govern- 
ment from  which  we  have  withdrawn,  with  any  pro- 
priety, or  without  encountering  very  obvious  practical 
difficulties." 

The  Confederate  general,  Wm.  C.  Wick- 
ham,  and  Admiral  Semmes  of  the  Ala- 
bama, openly  confessed  regret  that  the 
old  flag  needed  to  be  discarded.1  Since 
that  dark  time,  it  is  good  to  remember, 
North  and  South  have  shed  their  blood 
together  for  the  "  Star-spangled  Banner." 

1  Treble's  "  History  of  the  Flag  of  the  United  States," 
p.  508. 


244      The  National  Music  of  America. 

But  an  immediate  outcome  of  the  change 
of  flag  in  the  South  was  the  appearance 
of  "The  Bonnie  Blue  Flag,"  with  its 
spirited  refrain : 

"  We  are  a  band  of  brothers,  and  native  to  the  soil, 
Fighting  for  our  Liberty,  with  treasure,  blood,  and 

toil; 
And  when  our  rights  were  threatened,  the  cry  rose 

near  and  far 
Hurrah  for  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag  that  bears  a  single 

star. 

Hurrah  !   Hurrah  !     For  Southern  rights  Hurrah  ! 
Hurrah  for  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag,  that  bears  a  single 

Star." 

But  a  song  was  coming  that  was  to  become 
far  more  typical  than  this  pretty,  but  not 
very  characteristic,  melody ;  and  the  new 
song  of  the  South  had  already  become 
popular  in  the  North,  where  it  had  its 
birth. 

One  cannot  set  a  prosperous  counting- 
house,  a  busy  flour  mill,  or  a  number  of 
weaving  looms  to  music ;  one  can,  however, 


The  National  Music  of  America.      245 

easily  reproduce  the  jovial  and  romantic 
plantation  life  in  effective  song ;  and  "  Dixie  " 
was  a  rollicking  picture  of  a  marked  phase 
of  this  plantation  life.  Like  "  Yankee 
Doodle,"  "  Dixie "  bears  its  charm  in  its 
music  rather  than  in  its  words.  It  would 
seem  to  be  impossible  to  wed  serious  poetry 
to  the  plantation  jingle  of  its  insouciant 
melody.  It  has,  however,  been  attempted 
with  both  "Yankee  Doodle"  and  "Dixie." 
The  former  has  received  spirited  words 
celebrating  Massachusetts  (and  the  gallant 
stand  of  her  Sixth  Regiment  in  the  streets 
of  Baltimore),  written  by  Robert  T.  S. 
Lowell,  beginning  as  follows : 

"  God  bless,  God  bless  the  glorious  state ! 

Let  her  have  her  way  to  battle  ! 
She'll  go  where  batteries  crash  with  fate, 

Or  where  thick  rifles  rattle. 
Give  her  the  Right,  then  let  her  try 

And  then  who  can  may  press  her ; 
She'll  go  straight  on,  or  she  will  die ; 

God  bless  her,  and  God  bless  her ! " 


246      The  National  Music  of  America. 

And  Gen.  Albert  Pike  tried  to  make 
"  Dixie  "  serious  with 

"  Southrons,  hear  your  country  call  you  ! 
Up,  lest  worse  than  Death  befall  you  ! 
To  arms  !  To  arms  !  To  arms  in  Dixie  ! 
Lo !  all  the  beacon  fires  are  lighted ; 
Let  all  hearts  be  now  united. 
To  arms !  To  arms  !  To  arms  in  Dixie  ! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie  ! 

Hurrah !  Hurrah ! 
For  Dixie's  land  we  take  our  stand, 
And  live  or  die  for  Dixie  ! 

To  arms  !  To  arms ! 
And  conquer  peace  for  Dixie." 

Brilliant  and  spirited  poems  both,  but 
try  to  sing  the  first  lines  only,  to  the  dance- 
like  themes,  and  the  impossibility  of  wed- 
ding fiery  words  with  jolly  music  will  be 
plainly  sensed. 

"Dixie"  was  written  as  a  "walk-around," 
by  Dan  Emmett  (born  in  Ohio  in  1815), 
and  was  first  sung  at  Dan  Bryant's  Min- 
strel Show  on  Broadway,  in  New  York,  a 
year  or  two  before  the  war.  The  writer  of 


The  National  Music  of  America.      247 

these  lines  remembers  having  heard  it  when 
a  child  as  a  novelty  at  these  performances. 
It  was  one  of  the  war-songs  that  came  into 
its  martial  usage  by  accident. 

Musicians  may  shrug  their  shoulders  as 
much  as  they  please,  great  orchestral  leaders 
may  state  that  "  Dixie "  is  "  poor  music," 
yet  the  fact  remains  that  "  Dixie "  was  a 
great  influence  on  the  battle-field,  and  re- 
mains a  favourite  in  days  of  peace.  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  loved  the  tune,  and  many  of 
the  Northern  soldiers  enjoyed  its  measures 
even  when  it  represented  the  enemy  to 
them.  It  was  one  of  the  most  charac- 
teristic melodies  that  sprang  from  the  epoch 
of  the  war,  although  written  as  a  picture 
of  peace  and  happiness.  It  is  thoroughly 
representative  of  the  "land  o'  cotton,  'sim- 
mon  seed,  an*  sandy  bottom,"  which  is  more 
important  in  such  a  matter  than  a  severe 
adherence  to  the  laws  of  classical  form  or 
rigid  harmony. 


248      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Even  as  late  as  the  time  of  the  Civil  War 
there  was  a  dearth  of  composers  in  America, 
and  plagiarism  ran  almost  as  rampant  as 
during  the  Revolution  or  the  War  of  1812. 
The  beautiful  German  student  melody,  "  O 
Tannenbaum,"  was  seized  upon  for  "Mary- 
land, My  Maryland "  and  sung  to  the  fiery 
words  of  James  Ryder  Randall.  The  tune 
was  too  good  to  be  lost  by  either  side,  and 
soon  after  the  Southern  setting,  Northern 
versions  followed,  so  that  the  old  German 
praise  of  friendship  and  loyalty  became  a 
song  of  war  on  both  sides  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line.  "  When  Johnnie  comes  march- 
ing home  again "  was  a  near  relative  of 
"John  Anderson,  My  Jo,"  in  its  opening 
phrases.1 

Strenuous  efforts  were  made,  at  the  begin- 

1  America  has  not  yet  ceased  this  habit  of  musical 
plagiarism.  One  can  find  find,  for  example,  "  Jock  o' 
Hazeldean  "  turned  into  "  Willie,  we  have  missed  you," 
and  the  Trio  of  Chopin's  "  Funeral  March  "  boldly  appro- 
priated for  "  Somebody's  coming  when  the  dewdrops  fall." 


The  National  Music  of  America.      249 

ning  of  the  war,  to  produce  a  hymn  that 
might  inspire  to  patriotism  and  military 
ardour.  No  man  has  ever  yet  sat  down 
with  the  deliberate  intention  of  writing  a 
national  hymn,  —  and  produced  one ! r  A 
national  anthem  comes  by  inspiration,  and 
sometimes  by  accident ;  sometimes  a  piece 
of  very  worthy  music  is  a  failure  as  national 
song,  sometimes  a  work  which  may  be  strictly 
classed  as  trashy  becomes  a  nation's  war-cry. 
In  1 86 1  a  number  of  Northern  gentlemen 
offered  a  prize  of  $500,  or  a  medal  of  the 
same  value,  for  words  and  music  of  a  national 
hymn;  May  17,  1861,  a  committee  of  thir- 
teen (absit  omen!)  issued  the  call  for  this 
much-wished-for  anthem.  There  were  about 
twelve  hundred  competitors  ;  manuscripts 
poured  in  from  California,  from  England, 
from  Italy,  from  everywhere.  After  filling 
about  five  wash-baskets  with  rejected  contri- 

*  The  one  exception  of  Joseph  Haydn  and  the  Aus- 
trian national  hymn  may  again  be  noted. 


250      The  National  Music  of  America. 

butions,  the  dejected  thirteen  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  not  one  of  the  poets  and 
composers  had  produced  a  work  that  could 
be  called  national,  or  that  was  likely  to 
become  so.  The  committee  reached  this 
depressing  conclusion  after  about  three 
months  of  hard  labour. 

That  which  a  public  call  and  a  public 
reward  could  not  evoke,  sprang  up  by  acci- 
dent ;  an  old  hymn-tune  underwent  two  or 
three  metamorphoses,  and  behold,  a  Union 
war-song  was  made  !  The  original  hymn-tune 
is  claimed  by  Mr.  William  Steffe,  a  popular 
Sunday-school  composer,  as  his  own. 

In  one  of  the  old  Methodist  hymnals  of 
about  a  half  century  ago,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing hymn-tune  with  "  Glory  Hallelujah  " 
words : 


The  National  Mtisic  of  America.      251 


SAY,   BROTHERS,   WILL    YOU    MEET    US. 


•^        —r 

Say,      broth-ers,  will  you    meet        us? 
Glo  -ry,  glo-ry,  hal-le  -  lu    -     jahj 


Say,        broth-ers,  will    you    meet 
Glo  -  ry,    glo  -  ry,    hal  -  le  -  lu 


us? 
jah; 

h 


Say,      broth  -  ers  will    you    meet          us, 
Glo  -  ry,    glo  -  ry,    hal  -  le   -   lu      -     jah, 


On       Ca  -  naan's    hap  -  py      shore  ? 

For       ev    -    er,       ev   -    er     more, 

By  the  grace  of  God  well  meet  you, 
By  the  grace  of  God  we'll  meet  you, 
By  the  grace  of  God  we'll  meet  you, 
Where  parting  is  no  more. 

Jesus  lives  and  reigns  for  ever, 
Jesus  lives  and  reigns  for  ever, 
Jesus  lives  and  reigns  for  ever, 
On  Canaan's  happy  shore. 


252      The  National  Music  of  America. 

It  is  a  very  old  camp-meeting  song,  dating 
from  at  least  1856,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
used  in  Charleston,  both  in  coloured  churches 
and  among  the  firemen,  long  before  the  Civil 
War.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  Second 
Battalion  of  Massachusetts's  Infantry,  famil- 
iarly known  at  that  time  as  "The  Tigers," 
received  orders  to  occupy  Fort  Warren,  in 
Boston  Harbour,  and  to  place  it  in  as  good 
a  state  of  defence  as  possible.  The  company 
possessed  a  Glee  Club,  and  from  this  club 
they  had  learned  the  Methodist  hymn  already 
given.  It  was  just  the  kind  of  rhythmic  song 
that  would  fit  itself  to  lighten  labour  with 
pick  and  spade  and  wheelbarrow,  and  while 
entrenchments  were  being  thrown  up  and 
the  rubbish  of  the  old  fort  carted  away,  the 
men  sang  the  swingy  tune. 

Very  soon  they  began  to  improvise  verses 
of  a  less  sacred  character  to  the  melody.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  no  rhyming  ability  was 
necessary  for  such  improvisations,  since  the 


The  National  Music  of  America.     253 

lines  are  only  repetitions  of  each  other.  One 
of  the  singers  in  the  Glee  Club  was  an  hon- 
est Scotchman,  named  John  Brown.  Many 
were  the  jokes  that  the  soldiers  used  to  play 
on  their  good-humoured  comrade.  Finally  a 
jest  was  made  out  of  the  similarity  of  the 
soldier's  name  to  that  of  John  Brown  of 
Ossawatomie,  and  thus  the  first  verse  arose, 
and  the  song  was  entitled  the  "John  Brown 
Song."  The  words,  as  printed  in  the  very 
first  edition  of  this  poem  (?),  were  as  follows  : 


"JOHN   BROWN    SONG! 

John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
His  soul's  marching  on  ! 


CHORUS. 

Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  !  Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  ! 
Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah ! 
His  soul's  marching  on  ! 


254      The  National  Music  of  America. 

"  He's  gone  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Lord, 
He's  gone,  &c. 
He's  gone,  &c. 

His  soul's  marching  on ! 

CHORUS. 

"  Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  !  &c. 

His  soul's  marching  on ! 

"  John  Brown's  knapsack  is  strapped  upon  his  back — 
John  Brown's,  &c. 
John  Brown's,  &c. 

His  soul's  marching  on ! 

CHORUS. 

"  Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  !  &c. 
His  soul's  marching  on ! 

"  His  pet  lambs  will  meet  him  on  the  way — 
His  pet  lambs,  &c. 
His  pet  lambs,  &c. 

They  go  marching  on  ! 

CHORUS. 

"  Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  !  &c. 
They  go  marching  on ! 

"  They  will  hang  Jeff  Davis  to  a  tree ! f 
They  will  hang,  &c. 
They  will  hang,  &c. 

As  they  march  along  ! 

1  The  "  sour  apple-tree  "  evidently  came  later. 


The  National  Music  of  A  merica.      255 

CHORUS. 

"  Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  !  &c. 
As  they  inarch  along  ! 

"  Now,  three  rousing  cheers  for  the  Union  ! 
Now,  &c. 
Now,  &c. 

As  we  are  marching  on  ! 

CHORUS. 

"  Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  !   Glory  Hally,  Hallelujah  ! 
Glory,  Hally,  Hallelujah  ! 

Hip,  Hip,  Hip,  Hip,  Hurrah ! 

"  Published  at  No.  256  Main  Street,  Charlestown, 
Mass." 

The  services  of  the  "  Tigers  "  were  not 
accepted,  as  an  independent  battalion,  by  the 
government,  and  many  of  the  men  thereupon 
enlisted  in  Col.  Fletcher  Webster's  Twelfth 
Massachusetts  Regiment.  It  was  this  regi- 
ment that  bore  the  song  to  popularity.  Two 
definite  statements  from  eye-witnesses,  in 
two  different  cities,  will  prove  this.  The 
present  writer  has  spoken  with  many  people 
who  first  heard  the  tune,  and  in  a  manner 


256      The  National  Music  of  America. 

which  imprinted  it  for  ever  in  their  mem- 
ory, on  Boston  Common,  when  Col.  Fletcher 
Webster's  men  marched  across  it  on  their 
way  from  Fort  Warren  to  the  Providence 
depot,  to  take  cars  for  New  York ;  he  has 
also  the  testimony  of  many  who  were  pres- 
ent, that  when  the  same  regiment  marched 
up  Broadway  in  New  York,  they  halted  and 
sang  the  "  John  Brown  Song,"  and  it  created 
the  wildest  enthusiasm  among  the  multi- 
tude assembled.  The  Twelfth  Massachusetts 
Regiment  sang  it  into  the  war. 

It  underwent  another  metamorphosis  : 
Edna  Dean  Proctor  set  abolition  words 
to  the  song,  in  honour  of  the  more  cele- 
brated John  Brown.  In  December,  1861, 
Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  with  her  noble  hus- 
band, the  great  Doctor  Howe,  visited  Wash- 
ington. While  there  she  was  witness  to  a 
skirmish  some  miles  outside  of  the  city, 
and,  hearing  the  soldiers  singing  "John 
Brown's  Body,"  was  much  impressed  by  its 


The  National  Music  of  America.      257 

effect  as  a  marching  song.  Rev.  Dr.  James 
Freeman  Clarke,  who  was  of  the  party, 
noticed  her  enthusiasm,  and  said,  "  You 
ought  to  write  new  words  to  that."  Mrs. 
Howe  readily  consented  to  the  suggestion, 
and  "  Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,"  was  the  result.  There- 
fore the  evolution  of  the  chief  Northern  song 
of  the  war  can  be  briefly  summed  up  thus  :  — 
A  Methodist  camp-meeting  song,  sung  in 
some  of  the  coloured  churches  of  the  South, 
familiar  in  Charleston,  and  even  made  into  a 
firemen's  song  in  that  city ;  then  a  camp- 
song  of  rather  ribald  style,  carried  into  fame 
by  the  Twelfth  Massachusetts  Regiment ; 
then  an  abolition  ode  by  Edna  Dean  Proctor ; 
finally  "The  Battle-hymn  of  the  Republic," 
by  Julia  Ward  Howe.1 

One  may  add  to  the  above  that  it  was  the 

1  To  these  we  must  add  the  mistaken  theory  of  Ritter 
("  Music  in  America,"  p.  439),  that  the  melody  was  taken 
from  Foster's  "  Ellen  Bayne  "  (misprinted  "  Boyne  ")  — a 
slight  and  accidental  resemblance  only. 


258      The  National  Music  of  A  merica. 

rhythmic  swing  of  the  tune  that  caused  the 
song  to  spread  so  widely  and  so  rapidly ;  it 
is  one  of  the  best  marching-melodies  in  exist- 
ence. It  has  taken  root  in  England,  and  it 
is  said  that  even  in  the  far-away  Soudan, 
General  Kitchener's  men  sometimes  made 
the  route  less  wearisome  by  singing  "John 
Brown's  Body." 

There  were  other  songs  which  served  to 
lighten  the  soldier's  burden  on  the  march, 
and  sustain  his  bravery  in  battle,  which  were 
written  in  the  North  (we  have  already  spoken 
of  the  chief  music  of  the  South)  during  the 
terrible  years  of  strife.  George  F.  Root  con- 
tributed the  "Battle-cry  of  Freedom,"  "Just 
before  the  battle,  mother,"  and  other  strong 
lyrics  ("Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  boys  are 
marching,"  had  great  success  in  its  time) ; 
Henry  Clay  Work  wrote  the  spirited  "  March- 
ing through  Georgia,"  and  there  were  many 
other  songs  that  might  be  cited,  which  fitted 
their  purpose,  yet  fell  short  of  being  national 


The  National  Music  of  America.      259 

music.  The  influence  of  some  of  these  songs 
in  time  of  war  can  scarcely  be  over-estimated. 
There  are  many  songs  which  in  themselves 
seem  simple  that  acquire  a  tremendous  power 
by  suggesting  home  to  the  soldier.  Thus,  for 
example,  there  is  a  simple  melody,  suggest- 
ing to  us  nothing  much  more  than  a  few 
bugle  calls,  the  Swiss  "Ranz  des  Vaches," 
the  call  to  the  cows,  that  brought  such  a 
homesickness  upon  the  Swiss  volunteers  in 
the  great  Napoleon's  army,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  prohibit  it  altogether,  as  it  cost 
him  too  many  troops,  the  Swiss  soldiery  de- 
serting when  they  heard  its  strains.  The 
Scottish  melody,  "Farewell  to  Lochaber," 
was,  in  like  manner,  prohibited  during  the 
Sepoy  mutiny.  A  general  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  recently  informed  the  author 
that,  when  the  troops  were  in  winter  quar- 
ters, he  forbade  playing  or  singing  Charles 
Carroll  Sawyer's  famous  song,  "When  this 
cruel  war  is  over,"  as  it  made  the  men  too 


260      The  National  Music  of  America. 

down-hearted,  and  "Old  Folks  at  Home" 
was  often  under  interdict  during  the  Civil 
War  for  the  same  reason. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  Southern 
troops  often  sang  a  paraphrase  of  the  "  Mar- 
seillaise ; "  this,  however,  soon  gave  way  to 
"The  Bonnie  Blue  Flag,"  and  finally  to 
"  Dixie." 


CHAPTER   X. 

Folk-songs  —  These  Also  a  Branch  of  National  Music  — 
Character  of  Nations  as  Reflected  in  Their  Folk-songs 
—  Characteristics  of  American  Folk-songs  —  Southern 
Plantation  Music  —  John  Howard  Paine  and  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home  "  — Stephen  C.  Foster  —  "Old  Folks 
at  Home  "  —  Other  American  Melodies  —  Music  of 
American  Indians. 

THE  subject  of  national  music  can  be  di- 
vided into  two  large  schools.  In  the  pre- 
ceding chapters  we  have  spoken  chiefly  of 
those  songs  which  were  calculated  to  inspire 
patriotism  and  martial  ardour ;  but  any  song 
of  the  people,  whatever  its  emotions  may  be, 
has  a  right  to  be  classed  as  national  music, 
and  these  folk-songs  often  give  a  picture  of 
the  nation  which  evolves  them,  more  graphic 
than  many  historic  pages. 

The  folk-song,  therefore,  spite  of  its  sim- 
plicity, has  a  strength  and  beauty  all  its 
261 


262      The  National  Music  of  America. 

own ;  it  is  the  wild-brier  rose  of  music, 
springing  up  by  the  wayside  of  art ;  seldom 
can  we  ascertain  who  planted  it,  rarely  can 
we  discover  how  it  grew  into  its  final  shape, 
yet,  when  the  greatest  composers  try  to  imi- 
tate its  directness  and  simple  power,  they 
frequently  fail. 

Sometimes,  too,  the  tender  or  playful  folk- 
song unaccountably  becomes  a  war-song.  In 
the  Crimean  War  the  simple  love-song  called 
"Annie  Laurie"  became  the  song  of  every 
English  camp,  every  British  soldier  joining 
in  its  simple  measures  : 

"  And  each  one  thought  a  different  name 
While  all  sang  «  Annie  Laurie.'  " 

During  the  Spanish-American  War  our 
soldiers,  with  the  usual  American  devil-may- 
care  spirit,  elevated  "  There'll  be  a  hot 
time  in  the  old  town  to-night "  into  the 
domain  of  national  music,  pro  tempore, —  a 
quaintly  fit  selection  for  the  tropics. 

The  antiquity  of  the  folk-song  is  remark- 


The  National  Music  of  America.      263 

able.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  state  that  the 
Bible  itself  contains  many  folk-songs  of  old 
Palestine,  the  mourning-song,  as  it  is  used 
to-day,  being  prominent  in  Jeremiah,  the 
wedding-song  of  the  Orient  appearing  in  the 
Song  of  Solomon,  and  the  favourite  vint- 
age-song, abruptly  changing  into  a  mourning- 
song,  being  clearly  perceptible  in  Chapter  V. 
of  Isaiah. 

The  character  of  each  nation  is  indelibly 
stamped  on  its  folk-music,  and  the  folk-song 
of  Russia,  in  its  deep  pathos  and  its  baccha- 
nalian wildness,  speaks  of  serfdom,  and  the 
temporary  escape  from  sadness,  in  intoxica- 
tion ;  the  folk-songs  of  Norway  and  Switzer- 
land resemble  each  other  in  the  flavour  of 
mountain  life  which  is  apparent  in  them ; 
the  traditional  history  of  England  is  found 
in  its  old  folk-ballads  ;  and  the  most  varied, 
most  ancient,  and  the  most  beautiful  folk- 
music  of  all,  the  songs  of  Scotland,  speak  of 
every  phase  of  Gaelic  and  modern  Scottish  life. 


264      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Has  America  also  a  folk-song  ?  Certain  cir- 
cumstances have  militated  against  the  creation 
of  it.  Just  as  music  is  often  the  offspring 
of  sorrow,  so  prosperity  often  obliterates  the 
marked  types  of  existence  which  culminate 
in  folk-song.  England's  folk-songs  meant 
something  while  the  yeomanry  and  peasantry 
were  well-defined  types ;  when  commercial 
prosperity  made  the  mother-country  one  of 
the  most  powerful  nations  of  the  earth,  its 
folk-song  began  to  decay. 

America  is  handicapped  in  the  production 
of  folk-song  both  by  its  business  activity  and 
by  the  fact  that  it  is  a  gathering  of  many 
nations  who  are  not  yet  amalgamated  into  a 
distinct  type ;  at  best  its  folk-songs  are  sec- 
tional rather  than  national ;  the  life  of  the 
West,  the  South,  the  North,  each  presents  a 
different  phase  which  would  produce  different 
music,  —  if  it  produced  any. 

But  the  North  (the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States)  is  too  definitely  commercial  to  reflect 


The  National  Music  of  America.      265 

romantic  life  in  pathetic  music  ;  the  West  has 
not  yet  developed  a  singer  who  can  picture 
ranch  life  in  beautiful  tones ;  only  the  South, 
possessing  characteristic  surroundings,  and  a 
race  of  natural  singers  in  its  coloured  popu- 
lation, has  developed  something  akin  to  an 
especial  folk-song,  distinctly  different  from  the 
music  of  other  nations.  A  great  composer, 
coming  to  America  from  a  country  which  is 
rich  in  folk-song  (Dvorak,  of  Bohemia),  at  once 
seized  upon  this  music*  as  the  most  graphic 
expression  of  a  phase  of  American  life. 

It  has  been  objected  that  the  singers  in 
this  case  are  not  Americans  but  Africans,  yet 
we  may  be  sure  that  though  the  negroes  had 
remained  in  Africa  a  thousand  years  more, 
they  would  not  have  produced  this  music ;  it 
is  the  direct  outgrowth  of  American  sur- 
roundings, of  Southern  life.  Besides,  not  all 
of  the  singers  are  negroes ;  the  note  is  so 
definite  and  clear  that  many  writers  and  com- 
posers, living  in  the  North,  have  caught  its 


266      The  National  Music  of  America. 

effect  and  reproduced  it  with  infinite  beauty 
and  charm.  Among  all  these  writers  one 
stands  preeminent,  —  Stephen  C.  Foster. 
Foster's  great-grandfather  was  Irish,  coming 
to  America  from  Londonderry.  His  father, 
who  was  a.  tasteful  player  upon  the  violin, 
lived  some  time  in  Virginia  and  then  settled 
in  Pittsburg,  and  here  the  best  American 
folk-song  writer  was  born  upon  a  most  appro- 
priate date,  July  4th,  in  1826.  The  Southern 
element  which  speaks  so  eloquently  from  many 
of  his  songs,  came  from  his  mother  (Eliza  Clay- 
land  Tomlinson),  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
oldest  Maryland  families.  She  was  a  woman 
of  high  culture  and  much  poetic  attainment. 

Foster  is  said  to  have  much  resembled  his 
mother,  whom  he  fairly  adored  ;  in  fact  his 
devotion  to  both  his  parents  was  a  marked 
characteristic  in  this  most  gentle  nature.  He 
was  timid  and  shrinking  in  his  ways,  never  in 
the  least  self-assertive,  and  extremely  modest. 
Although  educated  at  Athens  (Pa.)  Academy 


The  National  Music  of  America.     267 

and  at  Jefferson  College  (Cannonsburg,  Pa.), 
Foster  was  always  a  desultory  student  and 
was  largely  self-taught.  He  made  himself 
familiar  with  French  and  German  and  was  a 
tolerably  good  painter.  He  taught  himself 
to  play  the  flageolet  at  seven  years  of  age. 
Later  on  he  familiarised  himself  with  the 
compositions  of  the  German  classical  com- 
posers. He  acted  as  bookkeeper  for  his 
brother  for  some  time.  His  first  great  suc- 
cess in  composition  was  "  Oh !  Susannah," 
and  after  this  he  poured  out  song  after  song, 
"  My  Old  Kentucky  Home  "  and  "  Massa's  in 
de  cold,  cold  ground"  proving  how  thoroughly 
he  was  in  sympathy  with  the  Southern  life 
and  how  well  he  could  picture  it  in  tones. 
He  often  attended  negro  camp-meetings  and 
studied  the  music  of  the  coloured  people 
with  assiduity.  He  married  happily,  in  1854. 
The  life  which  began  so  charmingly  was 
destined  to  meet  with  shipwreck.  The  appe- 
tite for  alcoholic  stimulant  grew  strongly  upon 


268      The  National  Music  of  America. 

the  young  composer ;  he  was  unfortunate  in 
business,  and  this  sent  him  still  deeper  into  dis- 
sipation. In  1860  we  find  him  separated  from 
his  family,  because  of  his  uncontrollable  habits, 
and  keeping  a  little  grocery  in  New  York. 
Pecuniary  difficulties  caused  him  to  sell  his 
most  popular  songs  for  the  merest  pittance. 

His  masterpiece  must  be  considered  '  The 
Old  Folks  at  Home  "  ("  Way  down  upon  de 
Suwannee  Ribber"),  of  which  about  half  a 
million  copies  were  sold.  A  more  tender  lyric 
of  home  and  its  memories  has  never  been  writ- 
ten. We  pity  the  musician  who  finds  it  "  too 
simple"  because  it  does  not  stray  far  from 
tonic,  dominant,  and  subdominant  harmonies  ; 
richer  musical  treatment  would,  in  almost  every 
case,  spoil  Foster's  heart-songs.  He  died  in 
New  York,  Jan.  13,  1864,  the  result  of  a 
fall  and  of  gashing  himself  against  a  pitcher. 

One  can  only  draw  the  veil  of  pity  over 
the  miserable  ending  of  so  sweet  a  nature ;  he 
was,  like  Burns,  a  man  who  sang  the  purest 


The  National  Music  of  America.      269 

poetry  of  humble  life  ;  may  one  not  carry  the 
parallel  further  and  say  of  him,  as  it  was  said 
of  the  Scottish  poet : 

"  The  light  that  led  astray  was  light  from  Heaven !  " 

If  "  The  Old  Folks  at  Home "  is  one  of 
the  chief  home-songs  of  the  world,  one  may 
also  claim  its  companion  work,  possibly  yet 
more  widely  known,  as  an  American  produc- 
tion, but  here  only  the  words  belong  to 
our  country,  —  the  poem  of  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home."  John  Howard  Payne,  the  author 
of  the  words,  was  born  in  New  York  in  1792. 
He  was  long  in  England,  was  a  constant 
wanderer  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  and, 
after  much  poverty  and  neglect,  died  at 
Tunis,  as  United  States  consul  there,  in 
1852.  It  is  scarcely  proper  to  claim  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home  "  as  an  American  song,  but  we 
may  be  permitted  to  correct  a  few  errors 
regarding  it.  It  was  a  song  in  a  musical 
play  entitled  "Clari,  the  Maid  of  Milan," 


270      The  National  Music  of  America. 

which  Payne  wrote  in  England  in  1823. 
The  music  was  partly  composed,  partly  ar- 
ranged, by  Henry  R.  Bishop,  afterwards  Sir 
Henry  Bishop.  The  play  circled  around  the 
central  point  of  a  song  which  brings  the  be- 
trayed and  forsaken  heroine  back  to  her  kin- 
dred, —  "  Home,  Sweet  Home."  In  the  early 
printed  editions  of  this  work,  the  tune  is  dis- 
tinctly marked  "A  Sicilian  Air,"  and  it  is 
hardly  probable  that  Bishop  would  not  have 
acknowledged  it,  had  he  composed  the  now 
world-famous  melody.  He  lived  thirty-three 
years  after  the  performance  of  "  Clari,"  yet 
never  proved  his  composership  of  this  par- 
ticular tune,  which  had  meanwhile  become 
celebrated  beyond  any  work  that  he  had 
written.  The  play  containing  the  song  was 
first  performed  at  Covent  Garden,  May  8, 
1823,  and  November  I2th  of  the  same  year  it 
was  first  heard  in  New  York,  Mrs.  Holman 
being  the  first  to  sing  the  melody  in  America. 
It  may  be  thought  necessary,  in  speaking 


The  National  Mtisic  of  A  merica.      271 

of  the  sources  of  American  folk-music,  to 
inquire  whether  any  debt  is  due  to  the 
Aborigines.  The  American  Indian  has  never 
been  essentially  musical.  The  subject  has 
been  thoroughly  investigated  by  Miss  Alice 
Fletcher,  Mr.  John  C.  Fillmore,  Mr.  H.  E. 
Krehbiel,  and  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes.  To 
the  works  of  these  authorities  we  refer  our 
reader;  as  for  any  direct  influence  upon 
American  musical  art x  to  be  exerted  by  a 
music  that  is  on  the  lower  savage  plane,  we 
have  grave  doubts ;  as  well  expect  the  Esqui- 
maux, or  the  Bushmen  of  Australia,  to  become 
the  foundation  of  the  opera  of  the  future. 

1  Yet  Mr.  MacDowell  has  attempted  this  and  brought 
forth  an  Indian  Suite  for  orchestra.  The  Indian,  of  course, 
would  find  his  music  unrecognisable  in  this  developed 
state,  and  a  composer  of  this  rank  could  take  almost  any 
unpromising  theme  or  figure  and  make  it  of  interest  to  his 
public.  In  other  words,  the  Indian  themes,  unadorned, 
have  no  especial  inspiration  beyond  the  music  of  the  rest 
of  the  savage  world. 


CHAPTER   XL 

Progress  of  Choral  Music  —  Lowell  Mason  —  The  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society  —  Other  American  Choral  Societies 
—  The  Beginnings  of  Orchestral  Music  —  Gottlieb 
Graupner  —  The  Academy  of  Music  —  The  Harvard 
Musical  Association  and  Its  Work  —  The  Germania 
Orchestra  —  The  Philharmonic  Orchestra. 

IN  the  opening  chapters  of  this  work  we 
traced  the  beginnings  of  psalmody  in  New 
England,  regarding  that  school  of  music  as 
the  seed  whence  the  greater  part  of  the 
American  harvest  came.  Conditions  have 
changed  in  recent  days,  and  a  worthy  school 
of  American  composers  has  arisen,  no  longer 
copying  the  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  or  the 
Ravenscroft  style  of  composition,  but  draw- 
ing its  sustenance  from  the  best  German 
teaching,  and  from  the  influence  of  the  entire 
modern  school  of  European  music.  Yet  there 
272 


The  National  Music  of  America.      273 

was  a  connecting  link  between  the  ancient 
psalmody  and  the  modern  orchestral  and 
choral  composition,  in  America. 

After  Billings,  Holden,  and  others  of  that 
ilk,  there  came  a  set  of  composers  who  still 
leaned  toward  the  music  of  Congregation- 
alism, but  added  to  this  a  degree  of  culture 
and  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  composition 
which  was  absent  from  the  works  of  their 
American  predecessors.  Chief  among  these 
one  can  mention  Lowell  Mason  (born  at 
Medfield,  Mass.,  Jan.  8,  1792),  whose  collec- 
tions of  church  music  led  to  a  higher  taste 
than  would  have  been  possible  with  the 
music-books  mentioned  in  Chapter  III.  His 
own  compositions  were  simple  but  well-con- 
structed, and  received  the  commendation  of 
even  the  great  Hauptmann.1  As  a  teacher, 
Lowell  Mason  had  a  great  influence  upon 
the  musical  advancement  of  the  country  and 

1  Matthew's  "  Hundred  Years  of  Music  in  America," 
p.  42. 


274      The  National  Music  of  America. 

might  be  called  the  actual  father  of  the 
modern  musical  "  Convention,"  the  successor 
of  the  old  "singing-school."  He  presented 
a  musical  library  to  Yale  University,1  and  in 
many  other  ways  led,  along  the  religious 
path,  to  a  higher  musical  development. 

With  Doctor  Mason  one  may  mention 
Thomas  Hastings,  Nathaniel  D.  Gould,  Gen. 
H.  K.  Oliver,  and  Geo.  J.  Webb.  These 
musical  reformers  had  certain  tools  to  work 
with  which  the  pioneers  had  not ;  choral 
societies  and  orchestras  were  beginning  to 
appear  in  New  England,  and  soon  led  to 
similar  organisations  in  other  parts  of  the 
country. 

The  most  important  of  the  early  organisa- 
tions was  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society, 
which  found  its  chief  nucleus  in  the  choir 
of  Park  Street  Church,  Boston,  a  religious 
society  still  existing  in  its  original  edifice, 
at  the  corner  of  Park  and  Tremont  Streets. 

1  Ritter's  "  Music  in  America,"  p.  175. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      275 

This  church  was  so  eminently  conservative 
that  it  received  the  graphic  nickname  of 
"  brimstone  corner ;  "  it  at  first  fought  against 
the  wickedness  of  the  use  of  organs  in  divine 
service,  using  flute,  bassoon,  and  violoncello 
as  a  godly  substitute  for  the  more  varied, 
and  therefore  more  sinful,  instrument.  Yet 
the  choir  here  was  by  far  the  best  in  Boston, 
and  two  of  its  members,  Gen.  H.  K.  Oliver 
(composer  of  "  Federal  Street ")  and  Mr. 
Jonas  Chickering  (founder  of  the  piano  house 
of  Chickering  &  Sons),  were  destined  to  exert 
a  marked  influence  upon  the  American  musi- 
cal world,  a  little  later.  Out  of  this  choir 
came  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 

There  had  been  a  Peace  Jubilee  held  in 
King's  Chapel,  to  celebrate  the  end  of  the 
War  of  1812,  on  the  night  of  Feb.  22 
(Washington's  birthday),  1815,  and  Boston 
was  so  delighted  with  the  choral  music  on 
that  occasion,  that  the  papers  suggested  more 
effort  in  the  same  line.  The  result  was  that 


276      Tlie  National  Music  of  America. 

on  March  30,  1815,  a  circular  was  sent  out 
by  Gottlieb  Graupner,  Asa  Peabody,  and 
T.  S.  Webb,  inviting  cooperation,  "for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a  correct  taste  in  Sacred 
Musick."1  This  circular  led  to  the  immediate 
birth  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 
The  constitution  of  the  new  society  followed 
on  April  20,  1815,  and  Christmas  eve,  of  the 
same  year,  brought  forth  its  first  concert. 
General  Oliver  has  personally  told  the  author 
that  it  was  the  most  impressive  of  concerts, 
the  composer  of  "  Federal  Street "  having 
been  one  of  the  auditors.  The  programme 
was  a  very  ambitious  one  for  those  days  ;  it 
began  with  seventeen  numbers  (recitatives, 
airs,  and  choruses)  from  Haydn's  "  Creation." 
Then  came  a  number  of  Handelian  selec- 
tions, and  as  finale  the  "  Hallelujah  Chorus  " 

1  There  had  been  a  musical  society  established  earlier 
than  this,  in  Stoughton,  Mass.,  Nov.  7,  1786.  But  the 
Stoughton  Musical  Society  never  exerted  the  influence 
of  the  Handel  and  Haydn,  although  it  may  claim  chrono- 
logical precedence. 


The  National  Music  of  America,      277 

was  sung.  The  tickets  were  one  dollar  each, 
but  the  advertisement  in  the  Boston  Colum- 
bian Centinel  added : 

"  N.  B.  Gentlemen  who  wish  to  take  their  fami- 
lies are  informed  that  on  purchasing  four  tickets  they 
will  be  presented  with  a  fifth  gratis  ;  and  those  pur- 
chasing six  will  be  entitled  to  two  additional  ones." 

The  concert  began  at  six  o'clock,  and,  like 
the  Peace  Jubilee,  was  held  in  the  "  Stone 
Chapel  in  School  Street "  (King's  Chapel) ; 
it  must  have  lasted  until  about  ten  o'clock 
or  later.  There  were  ninety  gentlemen  and 
ten  ladies  in  the  chorus,  there  was  an  orches- 
tra of  ten,  and  the  organ.  There  were  945 
people  in  the  audience. 

Criticism  in  those  days  was  largely  ecstasy,1 
and  the  raptures  of  the  press  are  comical  to 
behold :  "  There  is  nothing  to  compare  with 

1  One  may  regard  the  late  John  S.  Dwight  as  the  link 
between  the  old  criticism  and  the  new,  exactly  as  Lowell 
Mason  leads  from  the  old  style  of  composition  to  the 
more  advanced  modern  school ;  both  deserve  the  gratitude 
of  American  musicians. 


278      The  National  Music  of  America. 

it ;  it  is  the  wonder  of  the  nation,"  exclaimed 
one  reviewer ;  here  is  an  extract  from  the 
Columbian  Centinel  oi  Dec.  27,  1815: 

"  We  have  not  language  to  do  justice  to  the  feel- 
ings experienced  in  attending  to  the  inimitable  execu- 
tion of  a  most  judicious  selection  of  Pieces  from  the 
Fathers  of  Sacred  Song.  We  can  say  that  those  who 
were  judges  of  the  performances  were  unanimous  in 
the  declaration  of  their  superiority  to  any  ever  before 
given  in  this  town.  Some  of  the  parts  electrified  the 
whole  auditory,  and  notwithstanding  the  sanctity  of 
the  place  and  day,  the  excitements  to  loud  applause 
were  frequently  irresistible.  We  shall  not  particu- 
larise, but  some  of  the  solos  merited  every  praise." 

In  1818  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society 
gave  the  first  complete  performance  of  an 
oratorio  that  had  ever  taken  place  on  Ameri- 
can soil,1  presenting  the  "Messiah,"  which  it 
has  since  sung  about  one  hundred  times. 
In  1819  it  gave  a  complete  performance  of 

1  Ritter's  statement  ("Music  in  America,"  p.  135)  re- 
garding a  performance  of  the  "  Messiah  "  in  New  York,  at 
Trinity  Church,  in  1770,  is  not  exact ;  a  partial  perform- 
ance was  given.  Dr.  Ritter  contradicts  his  own  statement 
on  page  229  of  the  same  work. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      279 

Haydn's  "  Creation."  New  York  was  several 
years  behind  Boston  in  this  field,  the  "  Sacred 
Music  Society"  giving  the  first  entire  ora- 
torio in  that  city — "The  Messiah"  —  Nov. 
18,  1831.  The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society 
soon  left  the  Stone  Chapel,  and  its  con- 
certs took  place  at  Boylston  Hall  (corner 
of  Boylston  and  Washington  Streets),  then 
at  the  Melodeon  (on  Washington  Street, 
between  West  and  Avery  Streets),  and  finally 
at  Music  Hall.  Until  1847  the  president  of 
the  society  was  also  its  conductor,  and  in  the 
old  list  we  find  the  names  of  Thos.  S.  Webb 
and  Lowell  Mason,  followed  by  Zeuner, 
Charles  C.  Perkins,  Carl  Bergmann,  and  cul- 
minating in  the  directorship  of  Carl  Zerrahn, 
extending  over  forty  years.  Like  Mason  in 
sacred  music,  or  Dwight  in  criticism,  Carl 
Zerrahn  was  the  bridge  by  which  New  Eng- 
land, and  afterward  the  rest  of  the  United 
States,  travelled  to  its  modern  goal  in  classi- 
cal music. 


280      The  National  Music  of  America. 

The  list  of  the  organists  presents  Miss 
Hewitt  (afterward  Mrs.  Ostinelli),  the  two 
Hayters,  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker,  reaching  its 
culmination  in  the  work  of  B.  J.  Lang,  who 
served  about  forty  years,  and  whose  name  is 
also  intertwined  most  closely  with  almost 
every  advance  made  in  New  England,  from 
the  crude  performances  of  the  past,  to  the 
advanced  taste  and  virtuosity  of  the  present. 
It  may  also  be  mentioned  that  Lowell  Mason 
published  a  collection  of  the  best  oratorio 
music,  as  an  outgrowth  of  the  work  of  this 
society,  called  the  "  Handel  and  Haydn  Col- 
lection," a  book  which  might  fairly  be  called 
"epoch-making,"  so  distinctly  does  it  mark 
the  advance  of  American  musical  taste. 

New  York  was  far  behind  Boston  in  the 
choral  side  of  music,  for  its  first  important 
choral  society,  "The  Musical  Institute,"  was 
established  as  late  as  1844,  and  even  this 
society  was  short  lived,  being  merged  in  the 
New  York  Harmonic  Society  in  1849,  this 


77*1?  National  Music  of  America.      281 

latter  being  New  York's  first  great  choral 
society.  The  taste  for  oratorios  was  not  nearly 
so  universal  in  New  York  as  in  Boston.1 

Contemporaneous  with  these  advances  in 
choral  performance  the  western  and  southern 
cities  were  influenced  by  foreign  causes  ;  the 
German  population  instituted  many  male 
choruses  (Maennerchoere\  and  the  opera  was 
accepted  with  some  avidity  by  cities  outside 
of  New  England.  It  is  not  to  our  purpose 
to  follow  the  establishment  of  Italian  and 
French  opera  in  the  United  States,  yet  the 
following  facts  may  present  a  summary  of 
matters. 

New  York  was  the  pioneer.  In  1825  an 
effort  was  made  to  establish  Italian  opera  in 
that  city.  The  era  of  high  salaries  began  at 
once,  America  surpassing  England  in  the 
extravagance  of  its  remuneration  of  foreign 
artists.  Henry  T.  Finck,  in  an  interesting 
article  on  this  subject,  states  that  the  price 
1  Hitter's  "  Music  in  America,"  p.  296. 


282      The  National  Music  of  America. 

of  a  good  orchestra  seat  in  that  first  great 
season  of  opera  in  America  was  one  dollar ! * 
This  first  cis-Atlantic  opera  troupe  was 
brought  to  New  York  by  the  great  Manuel 
Garcia.2  From  that  time  to  the  present, 
Boston  has  been  but  a  reflection  of  New 
York  in  operatic  matters.  In  the  earliest 
days  of  the  history  of  opera  in  America, 
Boston  looked  askance  at  such  "  play-house  " 
affairs.  When  the  Marti  troupe  came  to 
Boston  (at  the  Howard  Athenaeum)  in  1847, 
the  prices  were  less  than  those  exacted  in  New 
York,  fifty  cents  paying  for  admission  even 
when  Madame  Lagrange  sang.  At  this  time 
New  York  loved  opera,  and  was  bored  by 
oratorio,  while  Boston  cared  less  for  Rossini 
or  Mozart  than  for  Handel  and  Haydn.  This 
was  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  old  psalmody 
in  which  New  England  had  been  bred,  and 

1  The  Musician,  December,  1897. 

2  A  full  description  of  the  evolution  of  opera  in  America 
will  be  found  in  Hitter's  "  Music  in  America,"  p.  190  et  seq. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      283 

was  also  a  consequence  of  the  early  establish- 
ment of  choral  and  orchestral  music  in  the 
eastern,  and  opera  in  the  central,  metropolis. 
We  have  outlined  the  native  choral  develop- 
ment ;  let  us  now  turn  to  a  brief  sketch  of 
the  rise  of  the  orchestra  in  America. 

In  this  field  Boston  was  again  the  pioneer. 
Philadelphia,  in  the  last  century,  was  very 
musical,  and  as  early  as  May  4,  1788,  gave, 
at  the  Reformed  German  Church,  in  Race 
Street,  a  concert  with  a  chorus  of  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty,  and  an  orchestra  of  fifty 
members ;  the  greatest  musical  event  of  the 
last  century,  in  America.  Yet  even  Phila- 
delphia made  no  effort  to  establish  an  orches- 
tra upon  anything  like  a  permanent  basis. 

In  1798  there  came  to  Boston  a  man 
who  may  well  be  called  the  father  of  the 
American  orchestra ;  his  name  was  Gottlieb 
Graupner.  He  had  been  the  oboist  in  a 
Hanoverian  regiment  in  his  youthful  days, 
and  after  his  discharge  from  service  became 


284      The  National  Music  of  America. 

a  rolling  stone,  which  only  began  to  gather 
moss  when  it  brought  up  in  Boston.  He  left 
his  regiment  April  8,  1788,  and  in  1791 
we  find  him  in  London,  playing  oboe  in  the 
great  orchestra  which  Salomon  gathered  to 
give  Haydn's  symphonies,  under  the  personal 
direction  of  the  composer.  We  next  en- 
counter our  strolling  musician  in  Prince 
Edward  Island,  where  he  must  have  found 
very  little  chance  to  exercise  his  talents,  for 
he  soon  set  sail  for  Charleston,  S.  C,  where 
he  married  and  remained  a  few  years.  His 
wife  was  also  a  good  musician  and  a  talented 
singer.  In  1 798  the  wanderings  ended,  and 
our  musician  settled  in  Boston,  where  there 
were  then  about  half  a  dozen  professional 
musicians.  He  very  soon  drew  these,  and 
a  few  amateurs,  around  him.  He  was  the 
very  man  to  head  a  country  orchestra,  such 
as  was  now  to  be  founded,  for  he  not  only 
played  his  oboe,  but  was  a  good  performer 
upon  the  double-bass,  could  sustain  an  or- 


The  National  Music  of  America.      285 

chestral  part  on  the  clarinet,  played  piano, 
and  was  an  excellent  timist.  In  addition  to 
this  general  utility  work  he  was  a  music 
teacher,  a  music  engraver,  and  opened  a 
musical  warehouse  in  Boston. 

He  very  soon  had  his  little  orchestra  in 
working  order,  beginning  with  about  ten 
members.  The  rehearsals  were  held  in 
Pythian  Hall  in  Pond  Street  (now  Bedford 
Street),  and  the  band  played  at  Gyrowetz's 
symphonies  (almost  unknown  nowadays), 
and  finally  scaled  the  heights  of  Haydn, 
whom  Graupner  always  idolised.  In  1810 
the  little  orchestra  was  named  the  "Philo- 
harmonic,"  and  at  once  combined  with  the 
choral  performances  of  the  town.  It  coop- 
erated with  Dr.  G.  K.  Jackson,  the  organist 
of  King's  Chapel,  and  at  the  early  meetings 
of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  we  find 
the  members  of  the  Philo-harmonic  Society 
invited  as  co-workers.  The  Dr.  G.  K.  Jack- 
son mentioned  above  was  also  an  important 


286      The  National  Music  of  America. 

figure  in  the  advancement  of  instrumental  as 
well  as  choral  music.  He  was  an  English- 
man, and  came  to  Boston  in  1812,  becoming 
organist  in  the  chief  churches  here,  and  the 
most  prominent  music  teacher  in  the  town ; 
he  was  rather  haughty  toward  the  incipient 
efforts  of  the  American  choral  societies,  and 
held  aloof  from  the  Philo-harmonic  and  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  societies,  until  they  were 
thoroughly  established  /without  his  aid. 

In  1833  came  the  next  important  advance. 
Lowell  Mason  was  now  active  in  Boston's 
music,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  Hon.  S.  A. 
Eliot,  Mr.  Webb,  and  other  music-lovers,  the 
"Academy  of  Music"  was  founded.  This 
was  practically  a  musical  conservatory ;  it 
intended  not  only  to  give  instruction  in  all 
branches  of  music,  but  to  establish  lectures, 
concerts,  choruses,  to  elevate  church  and 
school  music,  to  publish  musical  essays, 
etc. 

No  musical  institution  in  America  at  that 


The  National  Music  of  America.      287 

time  could  carry  out  such  a  stupendous  pro- 
gramme, but  the  academy  taught  twenty-two 
hundred  pupils  in  the  first  two  years,  a  very 
good  proof  of  -the  public  interest  in  music  in 
New  England.  In  1837  the  academy  founded 
an  orchestra,  but  it  now  found  that  it  was 
going  too  far  in  its  schemes  to  retain  full 
pecuniary  support  from  the  public.  It  never- 
theless struggled  on  until  1847,  when  it  gave 
up  the  ghost.  It  had  done  much  in  the  general 
field  of  music  ;  at  one  time  it  was  recognised 
as  the  chief  authority  of  the  country  in  this 
branch  of  art,  and  letters  from  almost  every 
State  in  the  Union,  to  "The  Academy  of 
Music,"  prove  that  Boston  was  a  musical 
centre  even  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  But  the  greatest  good  in  connec- 
tion with  the  academy  was  the  impetus  which 
such  of  its  promoters  as  George  J.  Webb, 
William  C.  Woodbridge,  and  Lowell  Mason 
gave  to  the  teaching  of  music  in  the  public 
schools.  The  planting  of  this  seed  was  one  of 


288      The  National  Music  of  America. 

the  greatest  factors  in  the  musical  advance- 
ment of  America. 

From  1841  the  academy  devoted  itself 
more  exclusively  to  instrumental  music,  and 
through  its  efforts  Boston  received  its  first 
large  orchestra,  an  organisation  which  lasted 
during  the  last  seven  years  of  the  existence 
of  the  academy.  The  Musical  Fund  Society 
carried  on  intermittent,  light  orchestral  con- 
certs until  1855,  under  Tom  Comer's  (no  one 
ever  called  him  "Thomas"  Comer)  direction. 
Mr.  Comer  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  George  J. 
Webb,  who  gave  some  very  ambitious  pro- 
grammes. 

But  now  a  foreign  yeast  was  in  the  meal 
and  the  orchestral  music  of  America  began  to 
draw  inspiration  from  the  fount  of  Germany. 
The  year  1848  was  a  very  trying  epoch  for 
the  fine  arts  in  Europe ;  revolution  was  lift- 
ing its  head  on  every  side ;  thrones  were 
tottering  and  dynasties  crumbling ;  freedom 
was  in  the  air  in  almost  every  monarchy  of 


The  National  Music  of  America.      289 

the  old  world.  Naturally  concerts  languished 
because  of  the  political  excitement.  Musi- 
cians began  to  emigrate  to  England  and  to 
America,  the  only  two  countries  which 
remained  calm  and  prosperous  amid  the 
storm. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  a  number  of  young 
musicians  came  to  New  York  and  organised 
themselves  into  an  orchestra.  In  1848  they 
took  the  name  of  "  The  Germania  Orchestra," 
made  Boston  their  headquarters,  and  had 
Carl  Lenschow  as  the  first  conductor.  In 
1850  the  orchestra  consisted  of  twenty-three 
musicians,  with  Carl  Bergmann  at  its  head. 
Among  the  band  was  a  tall  young  flute-player, 
named  Carl  Zerrahn,  who  subsequently  was 
made  director.  This  orchestra  may  be  called 
the  first  organisation  which  gave  satisfactory 
performances  of  the  great  symphonies  in 
America.  The  orchestra  soon  grew  to  fifty 
members  and  even  the  greatest  works,  Bee- 
thoven's ninth  symphony  for  example,  were 


290      The  National  Music  of  America. 

interpreted.  The  Germania  dissolved  in 
1854;  in  five  seasons  it  had  given  nearly 
ninety  concerts  in  Boston  and  had  made  a 
succession  of  tours  to  New  York  and  to 
other  cities,  giving  Americans  the  first  true 
model  of  orchestral  work  in  the  classical 
forms. 

It  will  be  impossible,  in  a  volume  not 
exclusively  devoted  to  the  subject,  to  speak 
of  all  the  musical  societies,  orchestras,  choral 
societies,  etc.,  that  were  now  in  existence,  and 
those  which  afterward  sprang  into  being : 
let  us  rather  trace  the  orchestral  seed  which 
was  planted  in  Boston,  the  chief  orchestral 
city  of  the  United  States,  to  its  perfect  fruit. 

After  the  Academy  of  Music  the  influence 
of  the  Harvard  Musical  Association  was  an 
important  factor  in  the  advancement  of 
orchestral  matters.  This  association  sprang, 
in  1837,  from  the  Pierian  Sodality.  It  de- 
voted itself  to  advancing  music  in  every  form. 
At  first  it  founded  a  musical  library,  then 


The  National  Music  of  America.      291 

gave  glee  club  concerts,  then  introduced 
chamber  concerts,  supporting  the  Mendels- 
sohn Quintette  Club  in  its  early,  classical 
career;  in  1851  it  agitated  the  subject  of  a 
Music  Hall  for  Boston,  and  the  edifice  was 
opened  Nov.  20,  1852,  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  and  the  Musical  Fund  Orches- 
tra giving  the  first  concert. 

From  1854  to  1866  there  had  been  con- 
siderable irregularity  in  the  orchestral  music 
of  Boston,  although  from  1855  to  1863  a 
Philharmonic  Orchestra  under  Carl  Zerrahn 
existed.  The  taste  of  the  country  in  the  sym- 
phonic field  was  of  the  flimsiest  description. 
An  indisputable  proof  that  Boston  was  the 
leader  in  orchestral  taste  even  at  this  epoch, 
may  be  found  in  tracing  the  early  efforts  of 
the  Germania  Orchestra  mentioned  above. 
In  New  York  the  Germania  musicians 
met  with  a  pecuniary  loss ;  in  Philadelphia 
they  started  at  Musical  Fund  Hall  and  lost 
so  much  that  they  went  to  the  Chinese 


292      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Museum  (a  much  smaller  edifice),  and  this 
also  proving  too  large,  they  finally  were 
obliged  to  try  a  little  room  in  Arch  Street, 
which  they  hired  for  ten  dollars ;  but  the 
receipts  amounted  to  only  nine  dollars  and  a 
half,  so  the  landlord  extinguished  the  gas  and 
the  concerts  simultaneously !  Only  in  Bos- 
ton did  the  organisation  receive  due  encour- 
agement and  sufficient  support  to  continue 
its  venture. 

Yet  even  Boston,  from  1863  (when  Mr. 
Zerrahn  discontinued  his  Philharmonic  con- 
certs) to  1866,  had  an  interregnum  in  its 
orchestral  music.  In  1866  the  Harvard 
Musical  Association  took  up  the  task  of  pro- 
viding symphonic  concerts  for  the  city  ;  Mr. 
Zerrahn  was  placed  at  the  head,  and  until 
1882  the  concerts  were  given  by  the 
Harvard  orchestra. 

But  at  this  time  Boston  suddenly  began  to 
burst  its  classical  swaddling  clothes !  The 
city  now  boasted  plenty  of  musicians  of  Euro- 


Tfie  National  Music  of  America.     293 

pean  culture,  and  these  began  to  demand  a 
more  modern  style  of  programme  than  the 
selections  from  the  old  masters  which  were 
copiously  in  evidence  in  the  Harvard  pro- 
grammes, and  it  was  suggested,  also,  that  the 
German  style  of  orchestral  ensemble  had  by 
no  means  been  attained.  The  result  was  that 
Boston  suddenly  had  two  regular  orchestras, 
the  Philharmonic  Orchestra  (a  name  three 
times  used  in  Boston's  musical  history)  be- 
ginning independently  in  1879,  an^  organis- 
ing into  a  Philharmonic  Society  in  1880. 
The  conductorship  of  this  orchestra  was  held 
successively  by  Bernhard  Listemann,  Louis 
Maas,  and  Carl  Zerrahn.  Orchestral  matters 
were  seething  in  Boston  at  this  time ;  every 
music-lover  was  seized  and  questioned,  — 
"Under  which  king,  Bezonian?  Speak  or 
die ! " 

The  Harvard  Musical  Association  repre- 
sented musical  conservatism,  the  Philhar- 
monic Society  was  identified  with  radicalism 


294      The  National  Music  of  America. 

of  the  most  decided  type.  One  may  well 
acknowledge  the  great  services  of  both  soci- 
eties, yet  we  need  not  close  our  eyes  to  the 
inevitable  shortcomings  that  necessarily  were 
present  in  the  performances  of  each.  With 
the  comparatively  slight  patronage  that  was 
then  given  to  symphonic  concerts,  both  or- 
ganisations were  likely  to  be  conducted  at  a 
pecuniary  loss.  In  order  to  make  this  deficit 
as  light  as  possible  (there  was  scarcely  a 
hope  of  avoiding  it  altogether),  the  rehearsals 
were  few  and  far  between,  and  the  musicians, 
gaining  their  chief  livelihood  by  teaching,  by 
playing  at  parades  and  picnics,  or  by  theat- 
rical work,  could  not  give  more  than  a  per- 
functory attention  to  the  symphonic  task.  It 
was  necessary  to  build  up  an  orchestra  which 
should  offer  permanent  and  continuous  em- 
ployment to  its  members ;  an  orchestra  that 
should  allow  the  player  to  devote  his  best 
energies  to  the  highest  branch  of  his  work, 
without  incurring  the  risk  of  starvation.  But 


The  National  Music  of  America.      295 

what  society  would  undertake  this  reconcilia- 
tion of  art  and  bread-and-butter  ?  Would  the 
government  grant  a  subvention  after  the 
manner  of  Europe?  Only  a  public-spirited 
man  of  great  wealth  could,  by  jeopardising 
part  of  his  fortune,  accomplish  the  devoutly- 
wished-for  consummation.  The  man  came; 
Henry  L.  Higginson,  a  prominent  Boston 
banker,  offered  to  found  the  ideal  orches- 
tra for  Boston,  a  model  too  for  the  entire 
country. 

Few  can  understand  what  such  an  under- 
taking meant ;  there  was  not  only  the  almost 
certain  deficit  which  would  need  to  be  made 
good  during  the  first  years  of  the  enterprise, 
but  there  were  sure  to  be  a  host  of  annoy- 
ances in  ruling  the  new  body,  in  bringing  it 
into  shape ;  cares  and  worries  from  which 
any  man  might  well  shrink. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Music  in  New  York  —  The  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra 
—  Other  Great  American  Orchestras  —  The  Chicago 
Orchestra  —  The  Great  Peace  Jubilee  —  Keller's 
"  American  Hymn "  —  Musical  Conditions  of  the 
Present  —  The  American  National  Hymn  of  the 
Future  —  Conclusion. 

IN  approaching  the  end  of  our  subject,  a 
retrospect  may  well  be  allowed ;  beginning 
with  square-cut  psalmody,  with  a  proscrip- 
tion of  secular  music,  with  a  most  primitive 
orchestra,  in  a  little  more  than  a  century 
America  has  become,  at  least  in  its  chief 
cities,  a  field  for  the  best  music  that  the 
world  can  afford,  and  if  the  public  taste  is 
not  yet  on  a  par  with  the  culture  of  Euro- 
pean art-centres,  at  least  there  have  been  giant 
strides  toward  that  desideratum.  This  has 
been  chiefly  due  to  four  causes  :  the  advances 
296 


The  National  Music  of  America.      297 

made  in  the  standard  of  musical  perform- 
ances, the  creation  of  a  splendid  band  of 
native  composers,  the  establishment  of  great 
and  thoroughly  equipped  music  schools  and 
conservatories,  and  the  evolution  of  a  good 
system  of  public-school  training  in  vocal 
music. 

It  is  not  to  our  purpose  to  speak  in  detail 
of  all  these  branches ;  W.  S.  B.  Matthews 
and  F.  L.  Ritter  have  told  the  story  of  the 
American  composer ;  the  history  of  Ameri- 
can public-school  music  demands  a  volume  to 
itself.  It  may  be  stated,  however,  that  two 
cities  have  led  the  way  toward  the  high 
standard  of  public  performance  now  attained 
in  this  country.  Boston,  which  once  led  in 
the  matter  of  vocal  performance,  has  had  the 
leadership  wrested  from  her  by  New  York. 
Among  all  musical  forms  those  which  com- 
bine vocal  and  instrumental  forces  may  be 
considered  the  highest,  and,  as  oratorio  offers 
a  scant  field  both  in  the  matter  of  com- 


298      The  National  Music  of  America. 

posers  and  of  public  appreciation,  the  opera 
may  well  be  acknowledged  the  chief  and 
most  important  of  all  musical  forms. 

In  this  direction  New  York,  even  from  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  has  been 
the  acknowledged  guide  of  the  entire  country, 
her  achievements  culminating  with  the  highest 
type  of  German  operatic  performance  under 
the  leadership  of  the  great  Anton  Seidl.  Nor 
was  the  metropolis  without  its  own  musical 
societies  in  the  days  of  America's  infancy, 
although  these  came  somewhat  later  than  the 
New  England  choral  and  orchestral  organi- 
sations described  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
As  early  as  1 770,  Trinity  Church  gave  partial 
performances  of  "The  Messiah;"  in  1824 
there  existed  a  New  York  Choral  Society 
which  gave  solid  classical  programmes,  and 
in  1831  the  Sacred  Music  Society  gave  the 
first  entire  performance  of  an  oratorio,  but 
the  public  taste  for  the  earnest  side  of  com- 
position was  not,  at  that  time,  so  developed 


The  National  Music  of  America.      299 

as  in  Boston.  Trumpet  and  trombone  playing 
was  more  appreciated  than  good  singing  or 
the  finer  points  of  music. 

Shortly  after  1830  we  find  the  Musical 
Fund  Society,  the  Euterpean  Society,  and 
the  Sacred  Music  Society  coexistent  in 
New  York.  The  Euterpean  Society  was 
an  instrumental  one  and  had  been  in  exist- 
ence from  the  very  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  being  founded  a  trifle  later 
than  Graupner's  little  band  in  Boston. 

But  the  real  beginning  of  thorough  musi- 
cal organisation  took  pflace  at  a  much  later 
time.  The  New  York  Philharmonic  Society 
first  organised  April  2,  1842,  and  gave  its 
opening  concert  Dec.  7,  1842.  This  asso- 
ciation, so  important  in  the  development 
of  orchestral  music  in  this  country,  was 
mainly  due  to  the  efforts  of  Uriah  C.  Hill, 
a  native  New  Yorker,  who  had  studied 
abroad  and  desired  to  found  a  society  like 
the  London  Philharmonic,  for  the  study  and 


300      The  National  Music  of  America. 

performance  of  the  great  symphonic  works. 
After  some  years  of  effort  the  organisation 
grew  to  good  dimensions  and  was  incor- 
porated Feb.  17,  1853.  Many  societies  in 
every  field  of  music  have  been  incorporated 
since  that  time,  but  none  has  been  such  an 
important  factor  in  New  York's  orchestral 
history  as  the  Philharmonic  Society.1 

The  highest  orchestral  standard,  however, 
which  America  ever  attained,  has  been 
achieved  by  the  Boston  Symphony  Orches- 
tra, an  organisation  which  may  well  compare 
with  any  of  the  orchestras  of  Europe.  We 
have  already,  at  the  end  of  the  preceding 
chapter,  sketched  the  circumstances  which 
led  to  the  establishment  of  this  band.  It 
began  its  labours  in  1881.  In  order  not  to 
antagonise  the  orchestras  then  existing  in 

1  It  would  be  impossible  to  speak  of  all  the  modern 
musical  societies  of  New  York  and  Boston,  but  the  Ora- 
torio Society  of  New  York,  established  by  Dr.  Leopold 
Damrosch  in  1873,  deserves  mention  as  among  the  most 
important  of  these. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      301 

Boston,  its  generous  founder,  Mr.  Henry  L. 
Higginson,  took  the  off-night  of  the  week 
for  his  concerts.  The  old  Puritans  con- 
sidered Saturday  night  as  the  beginning  of 
the  Sabbath  ;  long  after  this  religious  idea 
had  passed  away,  Boston  still  held  Saturday 
night  sacred  as  regards  theatre  or  public 
performances ;  up  to  the  last  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  century  the  oldest  theatre  of 
the  city,  the  Boston  Museum,  closed  its 
doors  on  Saturday  night.  It  was  this 
unused  night  which  the  Symphony  Orches- 
tra chose  for  its  concerts,  and  Saturday, 
Oct.  22,  1881,  the  Boston  Symphony  con- 
certs were  begun.1 

In  accordance  with  the  plan  introduced  to 
America  by  the  New  York  Philharmonic 
Orchestra,  each  concert  was  preceded  by 
a  public  rehearsal,  thus  giving  the  ardent 

1  See  articles  on  this  subject  by  the  author  in  The 
Musician  for  December,  1897,  and  New  England  Maga- 
zine, November,  1889. 


302       The  National  Music  of  America. 

musical  student  an  opportunity  of  hearing 
any  new  or  important  work  twice  in  close 
repetition,  if  desired.  Mr.  George  Henschel 
was  the  first  conductor.  Great  as  this  artist 
was  in  the  other  domains  of  music,  he  had 
not  yet  won  his  spurs  as  an  orchestral 
conductor,  therefore  a  new  conductor  and  a 
new  orchestra  were  launched  simultaneously. 

Certain  odd  experiments  were  made  in  the 
placing  of  the  men  during  the  first  season ; 
all  of  the  string  departments  were  divided 
into  two  sections,  sitting  on  each  side  of  the 
conductor,  save  one  lonely  bass-fiddler  who 
could  not  be  divided,  and  stood  at  the  rear, 
alone,  like  James's  "  solitary  horseman."  This 
arrangement  was  subsequently  abandoned, 
and  the  ordinary  seating  adopted. 

There  were  sixty-seven  members  of  the 
orchestra  at  first,  many  of  them  old  resi- 
dents of  the  city,  and  most  of  them  members 
of  the  two  orchestras  already  described. 
Twenty  concerts  were  given  the  first  season  ; 


The  National  Music  of  America.      303 

the  third  season  this  was  increased  to  twenty- 
six  (always  with  an  equal  number  of  public 
rehearsals),  and  then  the  number  settled 
down  to  twenty-four,  which  has  been  the 
regular  number  annually  ever  since. 

From  the  very  first,  because  of  the  ade- 
quate number  of  rehearsals,  the  performances 
went  beyond  anything  that  Boston  ever  pos- 
sessed save  in  the  occasional  concerts  of 
Theodore  Thomas's  excellently  drilled  travel- 
ling orchestra,  and  as  the  years  rolled  by 
the  standard  went  far  beyond  anything  that 
was  anticipated  at  the  beginning.  In  order 
to  make  the  programmes  thoroughly  educa- 
tional, Beethoven's  nine  symphonies  formed 
the  backbone  of  each  of  the  early  seasons, 
until  every  music-lover  in  Boston  knew  them 
almost  by  heart.  Mr.  Henschel  had  also  a 
habit  of  "  saying  grace  "  in  a  musical  manner 
by  beginning  every  season  with  Beethoven's 
"  Dedication  of  the  House  "  overture. 

Another  reform  was  necessary  before  the 


304      The  National  Music  of  America. 

ideal  of  orchestral  performance  could  be  at- 
tained ;  in  the  ranks  there  were  many  old 
musicians  who  had  passed  the  zenith  of 
their  powers,  but  were  kept  on  for  senti- 
mental reasons ;  these  needed  to  be  replaced 
by  stronger  performers,  young  men  if  pos- 
sible, who  should  grow  up  with  the  orches- 
tra, and  make  future  changes  unnecessary 
for  many  years  to  Come.  A  new  conductor 
began  the  fourth  season,  and  set  about  this 
necessary  but  very  ungracious  task,  —  Mr. 
William  Gericke.  His  work  began  Oct. 
1 8,  1884,  and  was  an  excellent  example  of 
the  "  suaviter  in  modo,  fortiter  in  re "  prin- 
ciple, the  hand  of  iron  in  the  glove  of 
velvet.  Great  was  the  indignation  when 
the  new  broom  began  to  sweep !  Especially 
harsh  seemed  the  replacing  of  the  great 
violinist,  the  musical  pioneer,  the  leader  of 
the  orchestra  (concert-meister),  —  Bernhard 
Listemann,  —  by  a  beardless  young  Rouman- 
ian. After  the  lapse  of  years,  one  can  see 


The  National  Music  of  America.      305 

that  the  change  was  not  a  deterioration,  for 
the  young  man  has  since  become  one  of 
the  foremost  of  our  musicians,  the  founder 
of  a  great  string  quartette,  and  one  of  the 
best  of  concert -meisters,  —  Franz  Kneisel. 
But  when  the  youthful  newcomer,  on  Oct. 
31,  1886,  came  before  the  Boston  public  as 
a  soloist  for  the  first  time,  it  was  decidedly  a 
case  of  Daniel  in  the  lion's  den,  —  and  the 
latter-day  Daniel  escaped  unscathed  also. 

The  change  was  a  typical  one,  for  Mr. 
Gericke  brought  a  number  of  young  musi- 
cians into  the  Boston  Symphony  ranks  who 
have  been  there  ever  since,  with  the  result 
that  there  have  been  few  changes  in  the 
personnel  of  the  orchestra  for  the  last  dozen 
years.  When  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the 
number  of  public  performances  of  the  Bos- 
ton Symphony  Orchestra  in  Boston,  New 
York,  and  Philadelphia,  and  other  cities, 
reaches  very  near  the  one  thousand  mark 
in  1900,  that  the  same  body  of  men  have 


306      The  National  Music  of  America, 

rehearsed  together  thousands  of  times,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  Boston  Symphony  Orches- 
tra (now  consisting  of  about  ninety  members) 
has  had  advantages  possessed  by  no  other 
instrumental  organisation  that  America  has 
ever  owned,  and  its  unrivalled  technical  ex- 
cellence will  readily  be  understood. 

In  1889  Mr.  Gericke  voluntarily  left  his 
post,  his  health  necessitating  a  return  to 
Europe.  The  homage  which  Boston  paid  to 
him  at  his  departure  can  scarcely  be  exag- 
gerated. It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of 
each  conductor  in  detail ;  we  find  the  great 
orchestral  virtuoso,  Mr.  Arthur  Nikisch,  in 
control  from  1889  to  1893;  in  1893  the 
broad-minded  and  thoroughly  equipped  Emil 
Paur  was  the  conductor,  and  remained  so 
until  he  left  for  orchestral  and  operatic  work 
in  New  York  in  1898;  in  1898  Mr.  Gericke 
again  took  charge  of  the  orchestra  which  he 
had  done  so  much  to  establish. 

One   cannot   repress   the   wish   that   this 


The  National  Music  of  America.      307 

great  orchestra  may  some  day  go  to  Europe, 
that  the  Old  World  may  be  taught  to  realise 
what  a  standard  of  musical  interpretation  has 
been  attained  in  America. 

Nor  is  this  orchestra  the  only  one  to 
which  our  country  may  point  with  pride. 
Theodore  Thomas  (born  in  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, in  1835),  who  had  been  giving  sym- 
phonic concerts  in  New  York,  at  Irving  Hall 
first,  then  at  Terrace  Garden  (1866),  and 
finally  at  Central  Park  Garden  (1868),  eventu- 
ally organised  a  travelling  orchestra,  and 
taught  all  America  the  classical  as  well  as 
the  most  modern  repertoire  of  orchestral 
music.  Probably  no  foreigner  ever  exerted 
such  a  widespread  influence  on  the  national 
musical  taste  in  America,  in  modern  days, 
as  Theodore  Thomas.  After  being  director 
in  numerous  festivals,  and  conductor  of 
hundreds  of  concerts  in  almost  every  State 
of  the  Union,  he  was,  in  1890,  appointed 
conductor  of  a  permanent  orchestra  in 


308      The  National  Music  of  America. 

Chicago,  and  his  influence  there  has  been 
very  beneficent.  At  the  World's  Fair  in 
Chicago,  the  work  of  this  classical  musician 
was  apparent  in  every  orchestral  detail. 

With  the  World's  Fair  of  1893,  we  come 
to  the  paths  of  strictly  national  music  again, 
for  the  committee  of  that  mighty  festival 
appealed  to  the  great  American  composers 
to  furnish  new  selections  that  should  be 
national  music.  The  result  was  again  a 
proof  that  such  music  is  not  made  to  order, 
for,  although  our  greatest  composers  were 
heard  from,  nothing  that  can  by  any  stretch 
of  fancy  be  called  permanent,  resulted.  A 
similar  result  attended  the  effort  to  bring 
national  music  out  of  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition at  Philadelphia,  in  1876,  a  most  bom- 
bastic march  by  the  great  Wagner,  which 
was  composed  for  the  occasion,  being  about 
as  national  as  a  performance  of  "  Rienzi " 
would  have  been. 

A  festival  which  took  place  before  either 


Tlte  National  Music  of  America.      309 

of  the  two  above-mentioned,  was  more  fortu- 
nate in  its  evolution  of  a  song  which  came 
near  to  being  national. 

During  the  Civil  War  there  lived  in  Boston 
a  German  composer  named  Matthias  Keller ; 
he  was  a  kind,  simple,  and  lovable  old  man, 
who  struggled  along  hi  poverty,  trying  his 
hand  at  all  the  smaller  forms  of  composition, 
and  failing  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
public  in  any  of  them.  In  common  with  all 
the  composers  of  that  time  he  evolved  a  war- 
song;  it  was  called  "Save  our  republic,  oh, 
Father  on  high,"  and  it  resembled  a  chorale 
rather  than  a  military  work.  It  attracted 
temporary  notice  and  then  fell  out  of  sight. 

Patrick  Sarsfield  Gilmore,  a  very  enter- 
prising Irishman,  —  not  too  heavily  burdened 
with  classical  tastes,  —  in  1 869  gave  a  festival 
in  Boston,  celebrating  the  close  of  the  war. 
It  was  a  very  different  affair  from  that  with 
which,  in  1815,  Boston  had  celebrated  the  end 
of  the  War  of  1812;  ten  thousand  singers  in 


3  io      The  National  Music  of  America. 

the  chorus,  eight  hundred  musicians  in  the 
orchestra,  proved  that  Gilmore  disdained  the 
retail  business  in  music.  There  are  always 
plenty  of  people  who  figure  music  upon 
arithmetical  principles,  i.  e.,  if  eighty  musi- 
cians make  good  music,  eight  hundred  must 
make  ten  times  as  good  ! 

The  scheme  of  wholesaling  art  proved 
profitable,  and  in  1872  another  "Peace 
Festival "  was  arranged  on  much  larger 
lines.  A  hall  holding  fifty  thousand  people ; 
a  chorus  of  twenty  thousand  members;  an 
orchestra  of  two  thousand  musicians ;  a 
"  bouquet  of  artists "  consisting  of  fifty 
soloists  who  were  to  sing  in  unison  or  at 
times  a  dozen  to  a  part ;  a  number  of  for- 
eign bands ;  a  host  of  celebrated  singers ; 
Strauss,  the  waltz-king  ;  fifty  anvils,  pounded 
by  members  of  the  Boston  fire  department 
in  full  uniform ;  a  battery  of  cannon  to  em- 
phasise the  rhythm  of  the  "  Star-spangled 
Banner;"  these  were  a  few  of  the  attrac- 


The  National  Music  of  America.      311 

tions  offered  at  the  musical  bargain-counter. 
Yet  American  art  was  benefited  by  the 
"  monster "  (the  word  fits  well)  festivals ; 
choristers  came  from  every  part  of  New 
England  and  the  Middle  States,  and  many 
a  little  singing  school,  or  choir,  or  rustic 
chorus,  that  had  been  satisfied  with  singing 
the  watery  music  of  the  cheap  "  Musical  Con- 
vention" collections,  was  suddenly  made  ac- 
quainted with  Handel,  Haydn,  Mozart, 
Beethoven,  and  other  of  the  great  masters. 
The  classical  musician  might  deplore  some 
features  of  the  colossal  performances,  but 
the  fair-minded  one  will  acknowledge  that 
the  Gilmore  Peace  Jubilees  planted  the  seeds 
of  good  music  in  hundreds  of  villages  where 
they  had  not  existed  before. 

Gilmore  wished  for  some  special  anthem 
which  should  be  associated  with  the  second 
festival,  the  largest  musical  gathering  that 
had  ever  taken  place  on  earth,  and  he  found 
Matthias  Keller's  slow-moving  theme,  al- 


312      The  National  Music  of  America. 

though  composed  for  war  times,  very  well 
suited  to  a  celebration  of  peace.  The  typi- 
cal American  poet,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes, 
was  requested  to  change  the  sentiments  of 
the  war-song.1  It  became  a  lofty  theme 
of  reunion,  in  its  new  phase  beginning : 

"  Angel  of  Peace,  thou  hast  wandered  too  long ! 
Spread  thy  white  wings  to  the  sunshine  of  Love ! 
Come  while  our  voices  are  blended  in  song,  — 
Fly  to  our  ark,  like  the  storm-beaten  dove  !  , 

Speed  o'er  the  far-sounding  billows  of  song, 
Crowned  with  thine  olive-leaf  garland  of  Love. 
Angel  of  Peace,  thou  hast  waited  too  long  !  " 

Although  even  this  song  does  not  scale 
the  topmost  heights  of  national  music,  it 
may  well  stand  as  a  type  of  what  we  hope 
our  country  to  be.  It  speaks  of  a  united 
nation  and  of  a  peaceful  one ;  it  is  a  song  of 
welcome  to  the  suffering  from  every  clime. 

We  may  soon  hope  to  possess  a  nobler 
national  hymn  than  any  of  those  which  are 

1  Keller  died  very  poor,  soon  after  his  fame  was  estab- 
lished by  the  Peace  Jubilee  chorus. 


The  National  Music  of  America.      313 

described  in  these  pages  ;  for,  while  America 
possessed  no  composers  during  the  Revolu- 
tion and  the  War  of  1812,  and  no  very  great 
ones  during  the  Civil  War,  she  now  may 
boast  of  a  worthy  band  of  native  musical 
composers  who  shine  in  even  the  largest  and 
severest  forms  of  the  art. 

Paine,  Chadwick,  MacDowell,  Strong, 
Foote,  Buck,  Parker,  —  the  list  might  be 
extended  to  very  large  proportions.  One 
of  these  composers  will,  some  day,  when  the 
inspiration  seizes  him,  possibly  in  the  train 
of  some  great  national  events,  bring  forth  the 
music  of  the  true  national  hymn  of  America. 

May  God  grant  that  the  coming  hymn  be 
not  born,  as  so  many  have  been,  in  the  midst 
of  carnage  and  desolation ;  may  its  music 
not  be  cradled  in  distress  and  baptised  in 
blood !  Yet  it  must  not  be  wholly  a  song 
of  peace  either ;  the  trumpet  must  rever- 
berate in  its  harmonies,  the  sacrifices  which 
bought  this  country  and  made  it  what  it  is 


314      The  National  Music  of  America. 

must  not  be  forgotten  in  a  sweet  Lydian 
measure ;  and  Liberty,  though  she  should 
sleep,  will  readily  reawaken  at  the  sound  of 
the  national  anthems  of  America. 


THE   END. 


INDEX. 


Abercrombie,  General,  139- 

140. 

"  Abschied  vom  Leben,"  90. 
Academy  of  Music  (Boston), 

The,  286-288,  290. 
Adam,  Adolphe,  107  (note). 
"Adams  and  Liberty,"  183- 

192. 
Adams,  John,  46,  162,  191 

(note). 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  151. 
Adams,  Samuel,  69. 
"  Adler,  The,"  237. 
"  Adzooks,  Old  Crusty,  Why 

so  Rusty?"  135. 
Ainsworth,   Rev.    Henry, 

Psalm-book  of,  31-32,  35, 

40,  42. 

Aird,  James,  136. 
"Albany  Register,"    137 

(note). 

"Albany  Statesman,"  137. 
"  Alabama,   The,"  232-235. 
Alwyn,  Master,  218. 
"  American  Chorister  "  (See 

"  New     England     Psalm- 
singer,  The"). 


"American  Harmony, The," 

Si- 

"American  Historical  Rec- 
ord," 194  (note). 

"  American  Musical  Miscel- 
lany, The,"  60,  183. 

Amherst,  General,  139. 

"  Anacreon  in  Heaven  "  (See 
"To  Anacreon  in 
Heaven  "). 

"  Annie  Laurie,"  262. 

Arber,  29  (note),  30  (note). 

"  Army  and  Navy  Song" 
(See  "  Columbia,  the  Gem 
of  the  Ocean  "). 

Arne,  178  (note). 

Arne,  Mrs.,  182  (note). 

Arnold,  Dr.  Samuel,  135,169. 

"  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  107. 

"Babes,  Thieves,  Heathen, 
and  Heretics,"  24  (note). 

Bach,  J.  Christian,  78 
(note). 

"  Baltimore  American,"  196, 
200,  201  (note),  202. 

Banks,  201  (note). 


3'5 


Index. 


"Banner  of  the  Sea,  The," 

239- 

Barbaroux,  no,  114-115. 

"  Barnard's  Psalms,"  52. 

Bartlett,  Robert,  44. 

Barton,  243. 

"  Battle-cry  of  Freedom,  258. 

"Battle  of  Prague,"  78 
(note). 

"Battle  of  Rosbach,"  78 
(note). 

"  Battle-hymn  of  the  Repub- 
lic, The,"  257. 

Bayley,  52  (note). 

"Bay  Psalm-book,"  35-42, 
52  (note). 

Beanes,  Doctor,  193-195. 

Becket,  Thomas  &,  229- 
231. 

Becourt,  M.,  97. 

Benteen,  231. 

Bergmann,  Carl,  279,  289. 

Berling,  Widow,  203. 

Betsy,  The,  222. 

Billings,  William,  52  (note), 
67-7S.  273. 

Bishop,  Henry  R.,  270. 

"  Black  Death,"  The,  Anec- 
dote of,  14-17. 

"  Black  Sloven,  The,"  146. 

Bolingbroke,  Lord,  182 
(note). 

"  Bombardment  of  Fort  Mc- 
Henry,  The,"  196. 

Boncher,  Alexandre,  109. 

"Bonnie  Blue  Flag,  The," 
244,  260. 

«  Boston  Chronicle,"  63. 

"  Boston  Transcript,"  241. 

Bradford,  31. 

Brattle,  Mr.,  53,  56. 


Brattle  Square  Church.  Or- 
gan offered  by  Mr.  Brattle, 

53- 

Brissot,  Jean  Pierre  (See 
Warville,  Brissot  de). 

"  Britannia,  the  Pride  of  the 
Ocean,"  227. 

Broke,  Captain,  212. 

Brooks,  Author  of  "  Olden- 
Time  Music,"  64  (note). 

"  Brother  Teague,"  85  (note). 

Brown,  John,  253. 

Brown,  Robert,  30-31. 

Brownists  (see  Pilgrims). 

Brownites  (see  Pilgrims). 

Buck,  313. 

Bull,  Dr.  John,  116. 

Burnet,  Bishop,  84. 

Burns,  Robert,  108,  208, 
268. 

Bush,  Lieutenant,  218. 

"£a  Ira,"  96-100,  101 
(note),  107,113. 

Calliope,  The,  236-238. 

Calvin,  John.  His  opposi- 
tion to  congregational 
music,  18-19,  23-24. 

"  Cambridge,"  42. 

Candeille,  Demoiselle,  106. 

"  Canterbury,"  41. 

Carey,  Henry,  118-119,  164. 

Carlyle,  105,  in.  . 

"  Cases  of  Conscience  about 
Singing  Psalms,  B  r  i  e  fl  y 
Considered  and  R  e- 
solved,"  45. 

Castil-Blaze,  109. 

"  Celebrated  Folly  Song,  A  " 
(See  "To  Anacreon  in 
Heaven  " ). 


Index. 


317 


Chadwick,  313. 

Chamberland,  Deacon,  An- 
ecdote of,  51. 

"  Chant  du  Guerriers  du  Bas 
Rhin"(See  "Marseillaise"). 

Chaplin,  Jonathan,  50. 

Chappell,  William,  25  (note), 
118  (note),  164  (note),  182 
(note). 

Chickering,  Jonas,  275. 

Chrysander,  119  (note). 

"  Chorale,  Old,"  sung  in 
Goldberg,  15-17. 

"  Clari,  the  Maid  of  Milan," 
269-270. 

Clarke,  Dr.  James  Freeman, 

257. 

Clay,  Henry,  151-153. 
Cock  burn,  Admiral,  193. 
Cochrane,       Vice  -  Admiral, 

I93»  *  95- 
"Collection     of     the     best 

Psalm  tunes,"  52  (note). 
Collins,  Mr.,  64,  65. 
Colman,  George,  135. 
"  Colonel  Pickering's  March 

to  Lexington,"  146. 
"  Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the 

Ocean,"  227-231. 
"  Columbia,  the  Land  of  the 

Brave  "    (See  "  Columbia, 

the  Gem  of  the  Ocean  "). 
"  Columbian    Centinel,"   60, 

191  (note),  278,  279. 
"  Columbian  Songster,  The," 

60. 

Comer,  Thomas,  288. 
Constitution,  The,  211-226. 
"  Constitution     and     Guer- 

riere,  The,"  223-226. 
"  Continental  Harmony,"  74. 


Cornwallis,  Lord,  150-151. 
"  Coronation,"  76-77. 
Cotton,  Rev.  John,  43. 
Cromwell,    Oliver,    82,    132, 

141-142. 
Cummings,  119  (note). 

Dacres,   Capt.  James   Rich- 
ard, 211,  214-226. 
"  Dame  Musica,"  21-23. 
Damrosch,  Dr.  Leopold,  300 

(note). 

Danforth,  Rev.,  43. 
Danton,  105. 
Davenport,  E.  L.,  230. 
Dawes,  Jr.,  Thomas,  123. 
Day,  Printer   of   "The  Bay 

Psalm-book,"  35. 
Deblois,  Stephen,  61. 
"Defence of  Fort  M'Henry," 

197. 
"  Dem     Herrn     allein     die 

Ehre,"  89. 

Dibdin,  Chas.,  208-210. 
"  Dictionary   of   Music   and 

Musicians,"     118     (note), 

136,  139. 

Dinsdale,  Dr.,  182  (note). 
Dipper,  Mr.,  64. 
"  Dixie,"  245-247,  260. 
Duperret,  106. 
Durang,  Charles,  201. 
Durang,  Ferdinand,  200-204. 
Dvorak,  265. 
D wight,  John  S.,  277  (note), 

279. 
Dwight,  Rev.  Dr.,  43. 

"Easy  introduction  to  the 
Art  of  Singing  Psalm 
tunes,"  52  (note). 


Index. 


Eber,  The,  237. 

Edes,  Capt.  Benjamin,  203- 

204. 

Edison,  156. 
Eliot,  Rev.  John,  35. 
Eliot,  S.  A.,  286. 
"  Ellen  Bayne,"  257  (note). 
Emmett,  Dan,  246. 
"  Enchiridion,"  The,  18. 
Endicott,  33. 
"  Englishman  in  Paris,  An," 

109  (note). 
"  Enterprise  and  the  Boxer, 

The,"  226. 
Essex,  The,  222. 
Euterpean  Society,  299. 
Everett,  Alexander  H.,  192. 

"  Farewell  to  Life,"  90. 

"  Farewell  to  Lochaber," 
259. 

"Farmer  and  Moore's 
Monthly  Literary  Jour- 
nal," 137. 

Farragut,  232. 

"  Favourite  New  Federal 
Song"  (See  "Hail  Co- 
lumbia "). 

"  Federal  Street,"  275,  276. 

Fetis,  109. 

Fewkes,  J.  Walter,  271. 

"Field-book  of  the  War  of 
1812,"  102. 

Fillmore,  John  C.,  271. 

Finck,  Henry  T.,  281. 

Fischer,  Kitty,  132. 

Fiske's  American  Revolu- 
tion, 144  (note),  145  (note), 
150  (note). 

Flagg.  Josiah,  52  (note),  66. 

Fletcher,  Alice,  271. 


Foote,  313. 

Ford,  John  T.,  201  (note). 

Foster,     Stephen     C.,    257 

(note),  266-269. 
Fox,  Gilbert,  162-163. 
Frailey,  Major,  203. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  44,  97. 
"Franklin   Is  Fled  |Away," 

117. 

French,  Jacob,  76. 
"  French  Revolution,"  105. 

Gallagher,  202. 

Ganss,  Fr.  H.  G.,  239. 

Garcia,  Manuel,  282. 

Garrick,  182  (note). 

"  Gentleman     and      Ladies 

Musical       C  ompanion, 

The,"  51. 
"  Gentleman's      Magazine," 

118  (note). 

Gericke,  William,  304-306. 
Germania    Orchestra,    The, 

289-290,  291. 

Gerrish,  Brother,  56  (note). 
Gilmore,    Patrick    Sarsfield, 

309-312. 
"  God   Save   Great  George, 

Our   King"    (See   "God 

Save  the  Queen  "). 
"  God     Save    the    Queen," 

116-126,  164,  178  (note). 
Goldberg,  15-17. 
"Good    News    from     New 

England,  129. 
Goodwin,      29     (note),     31 

(note). 
"  Gott    erhalte    Franz    den 

Kaiser,"  120. 

Gould,  Nathaniel  D.,  274. 
Gould's  "  History  of  Church 


Index. 


319 


Music    in    America,"    71 

(note). 

Gram,  Hans,  58  (note). 
Granger,  Mr.,  65. 
Graupner,    Gottlieb,    58 

(note),  65,  66,   276,   283- 

285,  299. 

Graupner,  Mrs.,  65. 
Green,  Rev.  Joseph,  56. 
Greene,  Homer,  239. 
Griswold,   Rev.   Rufus   W., 

160. 
"  Grounds  and    Rules    of 

Musick,"  52  (note). 
"Grounds   and    Rules    of 

Musick  Explained,  The," 

45  (note),  52  (note). 
Grove,  118  (note),  136,  139. 
Guerriere,    The,    211,   214- 

226. 

"Hackney,"  33,  42  (See 
St.  Mary's  Tune  "). 

"  Hail  Columbia,"  1 19  (note), 
149,  152  (note),  155-167. 

"  Halifax  Station,"  214. 

"  Handel  and  Haydn  Col- 
lection," 280. 

Handel  and  Haydn  Society, 
274-280,  285-286,  291. 

Harford,  Miss,  230. 

Harford,  R.,  230. 

Harington,  Doctor,  164 
(note). 

"  Harmonia  Americana,"  73 
(note). 

"  Harper's  Magazine,"  202. 

Harris,  243. 

Harvard  Musical  Associa- 
tion, 290,  292-293. 

Hastings,  Thomas,  274. 


Hastings,  Yankee,  128,  131. 
Hauptmann,  273. 
Hauschka,  120. 
Hawthorne,  64  (note). 
Haydn,    Joseph,    120,    249 

(note). 

Hayter,  The  Messrs.,  280. 
"  Heil  dir  im  Siegerkranz," 

11 6. 

Henschel,  George,  302-303. 
Hewitt,  Miss,  280. 
"  Hey,  then,  up  we  go,"  25- 

27. 
Higginson,   Henry   L.,   295, 

301. 

Hill,  Uriah  C.,  299. 
"  History  of  Lexington,"  145 

(note). 
"  History  of  Music  in  New 

England,"  31  (note),  34. 
"  History  of  the  Flag  of  the 

United  States,"  158  (note), 

163   (note),   194    (note), 

204  (note),  229  (note),  243 

(note). 
Hoffman,  Lieut.  B.  V.,  216 

(note). 

Hogan,  John,  218. 
Holden,  Oliver,  76,  273. 
Holden,  S.,  174. 
Hollis,  Mr.,  59. 
Holman,  Mrs.,  270. 
Holmes,     Oliver     Wendell, 

126,  241,  312. 
Holyoke,  Samuel,  73,  75. 
"  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  269- 

270. 

Hood,  George,  31  (note),  34. 
Hopkins,  31  (note),  272. 
Hopkinson,     Joseph,     1 59- 

162,  1 66. 


320 


Index. 


"  Hornet ;  or  Victory  No.  5, 

The,"  226. 
Howe,  Doctor,  256. 
Howe,  Julia  Ward,  256-257. 
Hudson,  145  (note). 
Hull,  Capt.  Isaac,  211-226. 
"  Hull's  Victory,"  223-226. 
"  Hundred  Years  of  Music 

in  America,"  273  (note). 

"  Immortal  Songs  of  Camp 
and  Field,"  201  (note). 

"  Introduction  to  the  sing- 
ing of  Psalm  tunes,  An," 
52  (note). 

"  Ipswich,  History  of,"  50. 

"Italian  Monk,  The,"  163- 
164. 

Jackson,  Dr.  G.  K.,  285-286. 
"  Jahrbiicher,"  119  (note). 
"  Jefferson  and  Libert  y," 

192. 
"Jock   o'   Hazeldean,"   248 

(note). 
"John   Anderson,    My  Jo," 

248. 
"John  Brown's  Body,"  256- 

258. 
"  John  Brown   Song,"  253- 

256. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  140. 
Jones,  John  Paul,  207. 
Jordan,  John  W.,  158  (note). 
"  Just   before   the   battle, 

mother,"  258. 

Kane,  Captain,  237-238. 
Kearsarge,  The,  235-236. 
Keller,   Matthias,  309,  311, 
312  (note). 


Kennan,  George,  130. 
Key,  Francis  Scott,  192-204, 

242  (note). 
Kidson,  Frank,  136. 
Kimball,  Jacob,  75. 
King,  E.,  232-235. 
Kitchener,  General,  258. 
Klopstock,  115. 
Kneisel,  Franz,  305. 
Koerner,  Karl  Theodore,  88- 

95,  102. 

Koopman,  Jules,  133. 
Kossuth,  Louis,  135. 
Krehbiel,  H.  E.,  271. 

"  La  Carmagnole,"  100-107, 

"3; 

Ladre,  100. 

Lafayette,  General,  100. 
Lagrange,  Madame,  282. 
Laharpe,  107. 
"  Lamentation  over  Boston," 

71. 
"  Landlady's    Daughter    of 

France,  The,"  223. 
Lang,  B.  J.,  280. 
Larkin,  E.,  60. 
Larkin,  S.,  60. 
Latimer,  Elizabeth  Worme- 

ley,  101  (note),  107  (note). 
Laumont,  Mr.,  65. 
Laurens,  Colonel,  150. 
"  Laus  Deo,"  52. 
Law,  Andrew,  75. 
Lenschow,  Carl,  289. 
"  Lexington    March,    The," 

145. 

"  Lever  und  Schwert,"  91. 
"  Lilliburlero,"  81-87,  X49- 
Lincoln,  Gen.,  150. 
L'Isle,  Rouget  de,  108-116. 


Index. 


321 


«Litchfield,"4i. 

"Littell's  Living  Age,"  107 

(note),  133  (note). 
Listemann,  Bernard,  293,304. 
"  Lob  und  Preis  der  loebli- 

chen  Kunst  Musica,"  21. 
Locket,  Lucy,  132. 
"London  Daily  News,"  182 

(note). 

Long,  Capt.,  203. 
Lossing,     102     (note),     216 

(note),  220  (note). 
"  Low  Dutch,"  41. 
Lowell,  Robert  T.  S.,  245. 
Lully,  117,  118  (note). 
Luther,   Martin,    u,    17-23, 

47- 

Liitzow,  89,  90,  91. 
"  Liitzow's  Wilde  Jagd,"  95 

(note). 
"  Lyre  and  Sword,"  91. 

Maas,  Louis,  293. 
MacCauley,  Capt.,  203. 
MacDowell,  271   (note),  313. 
Madame   Veto   (See    Marie 

Antoinette). 

Madison,  President,  193,  202. 
Mallet,   David,    178    (note), 

182  (note). 
Mallet,  Mr.,  65. 
Marie   Antoinette,  96,   103- 

105. 
"  Marseillaise,"     79    (note), 

107-116,  164,  260. 
"  Martyrs,"  33,  42. 
"  Maryland,  my  Maryland," 

248. 
Mason,     Lowell,      273-274, 

279-280,  286-287. 
"  Masonic  Ode,"  174-178. 


"  Massachusetts     Harmony, 

The,"  52. 
"  Massachusetts  Magazine," 

74- 
"  Massa's  in   de  cold,  cold 

ground,"  267. 
Mather,     Dr.     Cotton,     52 

(note),  54-55. 
Mather,   Rev.    Richard,   35, 

43- 

Matthew,  273  (note). 
Matthews,  Albert,  128,  140. 
Matthews,  W.  S.  B.,  297. 
McKoy,  William,  157. 
Medley,  Rev.  Mr.,  77. 
Mendelssohn  Quintette  Club, 

291. 

Mercier,  106. 
Miles,  243. 

Millard,  Harrison,239  (note). 
Morris,  Lieutenant,  215,  218. 
Morton,  243. 
Music  Hall  in  Boston  in  1756, 

63- 

Music  Hall,  Boston,  291. 

"  Music  in  America,"  33 
(note),  42  (note),  66  (note), 
257  (note),  274,  278  (note), 
281  (note),  282  (note),  297. 

Musical  Fund  Society  (Bos- 
ton), 288,  291. 

Musical  Fund  Society  (New 
York),  299. 

Musical  Institute,  The,  280. 

"  MusicalTimes,"  119  (note). 

"  Musician,  The,"  282  (note), 
301  (note). 

"  My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee," 
121,  125. 

"  My  Old  Kentucky  Home," 
267. 


322 


Index. 


Nason,    Elias,    134    (note), 

205  (note),  228. 
National  Convention,  "  Car- 
magnole "  sung  in,  105. 
"  National  English  Airs,  25 

(note),    118     (note),    164 

(note). 
"  National     Hymns :     How 

they  are  written  and  how 

they  are  not  written,"  147 

(note),  159  (note). 
"  Naval  Songs,"  207  (note). 
"  Naval  Songs  of  the  South," 

232. 

Nelson,  227. 
"New  England  Chronicle" 

(1723),  An  article  in,  44. 
"  New     England     Courant, 

The"   (1723),  An  article 

in,  44. 
"  New  England  Magazine," 

301  (note). 
"  New  England  Psalm-singer, 

or     American     Chorister, 

The,"  52  (note),  67,  71. 
New  York   Choral  Society, 

298. 
"  New     York      Gazetteer," 

140. 

New  York   Harmonic  Soci- 
ety, 280. 

"  New  York  Journal,"  143. 
"  New     York     Statesman," 

137  (note). 
Nikisch,  Arthur,  306. 
Nipsic,  The,  237. 
"North  American  Review," 

242  (note). 
"  Notes  and  Queries,"  227. 

"  Observations  Made  by  the 


Curious  in  New  England," 

46. 
"Ode,"  by  Thomas  Dawes, 

Jr.,  123. 
"Ode    for    the    Fourth    of 

July,"  122,  156. 
"  Ode  to  Columbia's  Favour- 
ite Son,"  62. 
"  Oh  1  Susannah,"  267. 
"  Old     English     Country 

Dances,"  136. 
"  Old  Folks  at  Home,"  260, 

268-269. 

"  Old  Hundred,"  33. 
"  Old  Ironsides  "  (See  "  Con- 

stitution,"  The). 
Old  Roat    (See    Roth,  Jo. 

hannes). 
"Olden-Time  Music,"  55,64 

(note). 

Olga,  The,  237. 
Oliver,    Gen.    H.    K.,    274, 

275- 

Oratorio  Society,  300  (note). 
O'Reilly,    John    Boyle,   239 

(note). 
Orne,   Capt.   Wm.   B.,   220 

(note),  222. 
Osborn,  T.,  230-231. 
Ostinelli,  Mrs.,  280. 
"  O  Tannenbaum,"  248. 
"  Our  National   Song,"  134 

(note),  205  (note),  228. 

Paine,  313. 

Paine,   Robert  Treat,   178- 

191. 
*Paine,  Thomas  (See  Paine, 

Robert  Treat). 
Parker,  J.  C.  D.,  280,313. 
"Patriotic  Songster,"  191. 


Index. 


323 


"  Paul  Jones's  Victory,"  207 

(note). 

Paur,  Emil,  306. 
Payne,  John  Howard,  269- 

270. 

Peabody,  Asa,  276. 
"Pennsylvania  Packet,"  121 

(note). 

Percy,  Lord,  145. 
Perkins,  Charles  C.,  279. 
Peter,  Major,  194  (note). 
Petersdorf,  89. 
Pfeil,  158. 
Pfylo,  158. 
Pfyles,  158. 
Philharmonic   Orchestra 

(Boston),  291,  292,  293. 
Philharmonic   Society  (Bos- 
ton), 293. 
Philharmonic  Society  (New 

York),  299-301. 
Philo,  158. 
Philo-harmonic  Society,  285- 

286. 

Phyla,  158. 

Pickering,  Colonel,  146. 
"  Pictorial  Field-book  of  the 

War  of  1812,"  216  (note), 

220  (note). 

Pierce,  Rev.  Dr.,  69-70. 
Pierian  Sodality,  290. 
Pike,  Gen.  Albert,  246. 
"  Pilgrim  R  e  p  u  b  1  i  c,"    29 

(note),  31  (note). 
Pilgrims,  The,  18-19,  23>  29~ 

5«- 

Pitcairn,  Major,  145. 
"  Pocket  Companion,"  60. 
Porter,  Captain,  222. 
" Poulson's  Advertise r," 
157. 


Preble,  Rear-Admiral  George 

Henry,    158    (note),    163 

(note),    194    (note),    204 

(note),   228,  229  (note), 

231,  243  (note). 
President,  The,  223. 
"President's   March,    The" 

(See  "  Hail  Columbia  "). 
Prince's    Revision    of   the 

"  Bay     Psalm-book,"     52 

(note). 

Proctor,  Edna  Dean,  2  56-2  57. 
"Psalm-singer's  Amusement, 

The,"  51. 
"  Psalterium   Americanum," 

52  (note). 

Purcell,  Henry,  84,  117. 
Puritans,  The,  19,  29-30,  33 

(See  also  Pilgrims,  The). 

Quarles,  Francis,  25. 

Randall,  James  Ryder,  248. 

"  Ranz  des  Vaches,"  259. 

Ravenscroft,  Tho.,  38,  272. 

Read,  Daniel,  76. 

Read,  Lieut.  George  C.,  219- 
221. 

"Red,  White,  and  Blue, 
The"  (See  "Columbia, 
the  Gem  of  the  Ocean  "). 

Reign  of  Terror,  Poetry  of, 
95-116. 

"  Remember,  O  thou  man," 
117. 

Revere,  Paul,  52  (note). 

"Rise,  Columbia,"  178-181. 

Putter,  F.  L.,  33  (note),  42 
(note),  66  (note),  257 
(note),  274,  278  (note), 
281  (note),  282  (note),  297, 


324 


Index. 


Roat  (See  Roth,  Johannes). 
Root,  George  F.,  258. 
Robert,  Paul  J.,  118  (note). 
Rodgers,  Commodore,  223. 
Rosier,  Mr.,  I,  65. 
Rosier,  F.  W.,  233-235. 
Roth,  Johannes,  157-158. 
Roth,    Philip.      (See   Roth, 

Johannes). 

Roundheads,  The,  23-28. 
"  Rowley,  History  of,"  50. 
"Rule  Britannia,"  178,  182 

(note),  240. 
Russell,     Major    Benjamin, 

191  (note). 

Sacred  Music  Society,  279, 

298-299. 

"  Sally  in  our  Alley,"  118. 
Salomon,  284. 

"  Saturday  Review,"  of  Mo- 
bile, Ala.,  118  (note). 
"  Save    our     republic,    oh, 

Father  on  high,"  309. 
Sawyer,     Charles     Carroll, 

259. 
Sawyer,  Vice-Admiral, 

221. 
"Say,   Brothers,   Will  You 

Meet  Us,"  251. 
Schuckburgh,   Doctor    (See 

Shuckburgh). 
"  Scots  wha  hae,"  88. 
"  Scranton  Truth,"  239. 
"  Scrap-book  of  the  French 

Revolution,"  101. 
Seidl,  Anton,  298. 
Se*jan,  107. 
"Selection    of    Masonic 

Songs,  A,"  174. 
"  Selection  of  Scotch,  Eng- 


lish,   Irish,    and    Foreign 

Airs,  A,"  136. 
Semmes,  Captain,  232,  243. 
Separatists    (See  Pilgrims). 
Shackbergh,     Doctor     (See 

Shuckburgh). 
Shackburg,     Doctor       (See 

Shuckburgh). 
Shackleford,    Doctor     (See 

Shuckburgh). 
Shaffer,  Mr.,  65. 
Shaw,  David  T.,  229-231. 
Shepard,  Mr.,  35-36. 
Shirley,  William,  139. 
Shorter,  243. 
Shukberg,     Doctor       (See 

Shuckburgh). 
Shuckburgh,    Dr.    Richard, 

137-142,  153. 

"  Singing     Master's    Assist- 
ant," 71  (note). 
Skinner,  J.  S.,  195,  202. 
Smith,  Buckingham,  135. 
Smith,  Colonel,  145. 
Smith,  John  Stafford,  169. 
Smith,  Rev.  Samuel  F.,  125. 
Solomon,  Miss,  65. 
"  Somebody's  coming  when 

the   dewdrops    fall,"   248 

(note). 
"  Song  of  the  Sword,"  91- 

95- 

Southampton,  The,  222. 
Spafford,  Deacon  Daniel,  50. 
Spafford,  Lieutenant,  50. 
Sparrow,  243. 
Squire,  W.  Barclay,  136. 
"  Star-spangled  Banner,"  119 

(note)  148, 155,  1 59  (note), 

168-206,    207,    241,    242, 

243>  310- 


Index. 


325 


"  St.  David's,"  42. 
Steffe,  William,  250. 
Sternhold,  31   (note),  272. 
"  St.  Mary's  Tune,"  20  (See 

"  Hackney"). 
"  Story   of    the    Pilgrim 

Fathers,"    29    (note),   30 

(note). 
Stoughton  Musical  Society, 

276  (note). 

Stoddard,  Reverend,  43. 
Strauss,  310. 
Strong,  31 3. 
"Suffolk    Harmony,   The," 

52. 

Swan,  Timothy,  76. 
"  Sword-Song  "  (See  "  Song 

of  the  Sword  "). 
Symmes,  Reverend,  43. 
Symphony   Orchestra  (Bos- 
ton), 300-306. 

Talbot,  Richard,  82-85. 
Taney,   Chief   Justice,   200, 

201  (note). 
"  Tate  and  Brady's  Psalms," 

52  (note). 

Thacher,  Reverend,  43. 
"  There'll  be  a  hot  time  in 

the  old    town    to-night," 

262. 

Thomas,  Theodore,  303,  307. 
Thomson,  James,  178  (note), 

182  (note). 
"  To  Anacreon  in  Heaven," 

168-174,   198,    200,    201, 

203. 

"  Token,  The,"  209. 
"  Tom  Bowling,"  208. 
Tomlinson,   Eliza  Clayland, 

266. 


Tomlinson,  Ralph,  169. 
Trenton,  The,  237-238. 
Tufts,  Rev.  John,  Psalm 

tunes  of,  47,  52  (note). 
"Twice-told     Tales,"     64 

(note). 

"Two  to  One,"  135. 
Tyrconnel,    Earl     of      (See 

Richard  Talbot). 

"Union     Harmony,"      76 

(note). 
"United     States     and    the 

Macedonian,  The,"  226. 
"  Universal     Collection     of 

Sacred     Music"      (See 

"  Union  Harmony." 

Valaze,  113. 

Vandalia,  The,  237. 

Van  Rensselaer,  Colonel 

Johannes,  140. 
Van     Rensselaer,     General 

Robert,  140. 
Vergniaud,  114. 
Von  Hagen,  65. 
Von  Weber,  95  (note). 

Walter,  H.  Johann,  21. 
Walter,  Rev.  Thomas,  43, 

45,  52  (note). 
Ward,  Nathan,  37  (note). 
Ward,  Paul,  227. 
Warner,  Col.  John  L.,  203. 
Warner,  Captain,  203. 
Warville,     Brissot    de,    79, 

"3- 
Washington,   George,    157- 

162,  191  (note),  227. 
"  Washington  March,  The," 

78,  157- 


326 


Index. 


"  Way     Down     upon      the 

Suwannee     Ribber,"    268 

(See"OldFolksatHome"). 
Webb,   Geo.   J.,   274,    286- 

288. 
Watts,   Dr.,  Psalms  of,  48, 

52  (note). 

Webb,  T.  S.,  276,  279. 
Weber,  Von,  121. 
Webster,  Col.  Fletcher,  255, 

256. 

Weld,  Rev.  Thomas,  35. 
Wharton,     Thomas,     Lord, 

84. 
"  What's  a'  the  Steer,  Kim- 

mer?"  88. 
"  When      Johnnie      comes 

marching     home    again," 

248. 
"  When  this   cruel    war    is 

over,"  259. 
White,  Richard  Grant,  147, 

159,  1 68. 
Wickham,    Gen.   Wm.    C., 

243- 


Wigglesworth,  24  (note). 

Williams,  T.,  230. 

"  Willie,    we    have     missed 

you,"  248  (note). 
Willig,  230,  231. 
"  Windsor,"  33,  42. 
Winslow,  232. 
Winslow,  Edward,  129. 
Winthrop,  Governor,  33. 
Woodbridge,  W.  C.,  287. 
"  Worcester,     History     of," 

Si- 

"  World  Turned  Upside 
Down,  The,"  151. 

"  Yankee  Doodle,"  1 20,  1 27- 
J54»  155.  *  59  (note),  245. 

"  Yankee  Man  -  of  -  War, 
The,"  207  (note). 

Yeo,  Sir  James,  222. 

«  York,"  33,  42. 

Zerrahn,  Carl,  279,  289,  291- 

293- 
Zeuner,  279. 


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